With the Penguins in the midst of their offseason, the Tribune-Review is looking at all 48 players currently under NHL contracts to the organization in alphabetical order, from mid-level prospect Niclas Almari to top-six winger Jason Zucker.
Sam Poulin
Position: Right winger
Shoots: Left
Age: 20
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 208 pounds
2020-21 QMJHL statistics: 24 games, 31 points (11 goals, 20 assists)
Contract: Three-year entry-level contract with a salary cap hit of $809,167 that has yet to begin.
(Note: According to Cap Friendly, Poulin is still exempt from waivers in the event he is sent to the American Hockey League.)
Acquired: First-round draft pick (No. 21 overall), June 21, 2019
2020-21 season: Perhaps no member of the Penguins could explain the logistical difficulties of trying to play during a pandemic better than Sam Poulin.
The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) was one of the few leagues in North American that attempted to play this past fall while the rest of the continent was on hiatus because of covid-19 concerns. Despite those ambitions, the QMJHL ran into considerable impediments as the league was halted and delayed throughout the entire season.
As a result, Poulin, who opened the season as captain of the Sherbrooke Phoenix, only played five games for that team — none after Nov. 7 — and scored six points (three goals, three assists) during the 2020-21 season.
By the end of October, he was included for Canada’s selection camp for the International Ice Hockey Federation’s (IIHF) World Junior Championship tournament but did not make the final cut for that team.
After attending the Penguins’ training camp in early January and primarily skating with players bound for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League, Poulin was returned to Sherbrooke on Jan. 11 but by Jan. 25, he was traded to the Val-d’Or Foreurs.
Placed on a line with fellow Penguins prospect Nathan Legare and Calgary Flames prospect Jakob Pelletier, Poulin returned to the ice by Jan. 31 and was highly productive, scoring 25 points (eight goals, 17 assists) in 19 games, helping Val-d’Or claim the second seed in the QMHL playoffs.
During the Foreurs’ run to the President’s Cup Final, Poulin was dominant with 19 points (11 goals, eight assists) in 14 games. His 11 postseason goals were second only to Legare’s 14 in the QMJHL.
The future: Poulin’s junior eligibility has expired so he’ll turn professional next season. If that is in Pittsburgh or with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, that remains to be seen.
He certainly offers a lot of what the Penguins need in terms of his youthful energy and his style of play as a power forward. But general manager Ron Hextall, at least based on his time as the Philadelphia Flyers’ general manager, has a history of allowing prospects to take their time in developing instead of forcing them into an NHL job too quickly.
But with the potential losses of pending unrestricted free agents such as forwards Frederick Gaudreau and Evan Rodrigues (to say nothing of the possibility of a forward departing via next week’s expansion draft) as well as a tight salary cap situation, the Penguins could very well turn to Poulin given his relatively frugal cap hit as he will be entering the first year of his entry-level deal.
(Note: As a player entering his first professional season, Poulin is ineligible to be selected in the expansion draft.)
The future could be now for Poulin and the Penguins.
