Jesse Puljujarvi’s championship celebration goes off the rails

A bizarre story involving former NHL forward Jesse Puljujarvi is making headlines in Finland. According to reports from the Finnish podcast Urheilucast, with the information translated by Daily Face-Off, Puljujarvi has lost possession of the gold medal he won with Finland at the 2026 IIHF Men’s World Championship.

The circumstances surrounding the disappearance are unusual, to say the least.

Per the report, Puljujarvi’s medal was reportedly stolen last Monday at Åke Karaoke Bar in the Helsinki metropolitan area after being put on display for patrons to see.

Puljujarvi later confirmed to Finnish outlet Iltalehti that he allowed people to look at the medal during the evening, but it never made its way back to him.

“The medal was on display,” Puljujarvi said. “People were allowed to look at it, but my medal was never returned.”

The story has quickly gained attention across Finland and now around the NHL, with reports indicating that citizens have even been asked to keep an eye out for the missing medal, particularly around karaoke bars and nightlife spots in the area.

It’s certainly not the kind of post-tournament storyline anyone expected.

For Puljujarvi, the medal represented one of the highlights of his hockey career. The former fourth-overall NHL Draft pick helped Finland capture gold at the 2026 IIHF World Championship, adding an international title to his résumé. The award is the third gold medal of Puljujarvi’s international career, having finished atop the podium at the 2016 IIHF Under-18 Men’s World Championship and 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship.

Unfortunately now, his focus has shifted from celebrating the achievement to locating the missing piece of hardware.

At this point, it remains unclear whether the medal was intentionally stolen or simply misplaced during the evening. Puljujarvi stated he would be willing to offer a small reward to the one who returns it to him.

“It doesn’t really have any value to anyone other than those who won it…I will offer the person who returns it ice cream, a coffee with a bun, or even both, if I get it back.”

The search is on.