If you are a regular reader here, you will note that among my areas of concern for our Pittsburgh Penguins has been their lack of natural Wingers and bigger bodies. Well, maybe GM Jim Rutherford has had similar musings. Yesterday, rather than wasting the team’s first round pick on an ill-advised trade, Rutherford plucked Samuel Poulin from the Entry Draft tree. Fellow Penguin Poop writer Rick Buker and frequent comment contributor Mike should be pleased.
Samuel Poulin’s Profile
Date of Birth: Feb 25 2001 (18 years old)
Place of Birth: Laval QC, Canada
Junior Team: Sherbrooke Phoenix (QMJKL)
Height: 6’-2” (74”), Weight: 206lbs
Position: Left Wing (LW), Shoots: Left
Father: Patrick Poulin
| Regular Season |
||||||||
| Team | League | Season | GP | G | A | Pnts | PIM | +/- |
| Sherbrooke | QMJHL | 2017-18 | 55 | 16 | 29 | 45 | 42 | 13 |
| Sherbrooke | QMJHL | 2018-19 | 67 | 29 | 47 | 76 | 46 | 8 |
| Total | 122 | 45 | 76 | 121 | 88 | 21 | ||
| Playoffs | ||||||||
| Sherbrooke | QMJHL | 2017-18 | 11 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 6 | -2 |
| Sherbrooke | QMJHL | 2018-19 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 4 | 8 |
| Total | 21 | 13 | 7 | 20 | 10 | 6 | ||
Physical Traits
Reading the scouting reports on Poulin, there is a lot to get excited about. Physically he is big and strong. Benoit Belanger has been quoted as saying he is a junior player in an adult body. Guillaume Lepage noted that he has size and power to protect the puck. HockeyProspects.com suggests that he “is strong on the puck along the wall and doesn’t mind going to the net with it.” The lastwordonhockey.com writes, “He is willing to drive to the net with the puck, and forecheck hard without it.
It sort of makes you wonder why Rutherford drafted him. All we ever seem to have on this team (outside of Patric Hornqvist) are perimeter players who do their best to avoid contact at all costs.
Offensive Traits
All of the scouting reports I have read on Poulin rave about his shooting ability. His wrist shot is said to be strong and accurate with a quick and deceptive release. Poulin is also said to have a powerful and accurate one-time shot. His snapshot is also said to be strong and Poulin is also said to have a very good backhand shot. Benoit Belanger and lastwordonhockey.com both extol Poulin’s ability to find the soft spots in his opponent’s defense and get there to get off a clean shot.
Another interesting point I have found in the scouting reports is that Poulin has a shoot first and ask questions later mentality. Again, this makes me wonder why our Penguins drafted him. In Pittsburgh, we get to witness our players pass up open shots for that last pretty pass, often ending up not getting any puck on net.
Poulin is also said to possess playmaking skills with a high hockey IQ. He anticipates his teammate’s movements and gets them the puck in open areas. He is effective at both cycling the puck and give-and-go plays (Sidney Crosby should like that). As noted above, he shields the puck well with his strength, giving linemates a chance to get open and then hits them with tape-to-tape passes (both Crosby and Evgeni Malkin should like that). Poulin is also willing to do the dirty work of digging the puck off of the boards or out of the corners.
Defensive Traits
Poulin already knows how to use his long stick. He disrupts passing lanes often creating turnovers. Poulin is willing to come back and put back pressure on opponents, taking away their time and space. Furthermore, he puts the hockey IQ mentioned in his offensive game to good use in the defensive zone as well, reading the plays and getting into position to break them up. Poulin is also willing to put body on body in his own end.
Playing a 200 foot game is a mantra of our Penguins and even though has been a bit lost these last couple season, was a hallmark of the championship teams. So, from that respect I understand the pick, but what surprises me here is that our Coach and GM would pick a player that puts body on body in the defensive zone. Not only is physicality a foreign concept in the offensive zone, it seems to be something the team frowns upon in the defensive zone. Defensively our Penguins have been a “let’s wave our sticks at them” kind of team.
Skating
I saved this for last because it is Poulin’s Achilles Heel. From what I have seen and read the kid is fast once he gets going and he is strong on his skates with good balance and “above average agility and edgework” (lastwordonhockey.com). Unfortunately he lacks not only a good first step but a first couple of steps. With all of the choppiness that an NHL game can become with stops and starts back the other direction and Mike Sullivan’s lip service to a fast game, this could be a serious limitation and a big question as to why the team drafted Poulin.
Hopefully this kid will get with a solid speed and agility coach to improve those first couple of steps and acceleration. Poulin is only 18, so he should still be able to improve this limitation. And from what I have read of the kid’s intangibles, he does have a good work ethic, so he just may do this.
Now let’s see what else this second day of the draft holds.
The Day After …..
The preamble…
I was blessed yesterday by the Hockey Gods Coach. I got to watch live all 7 rounds of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. After it was over I sat down and researched all the 16 teams of the Eastern Conference individual picks and compared them to 3 different rating agencies to determine who on paper got the best results. I finished a little after midnight and 5 players I could not find ratings anywhere, so my total was 107 different players. An eye opening experience to say the least that I plan to repeat with the Western Conference later.
The Premise.
NHL Hockey teams today have only 3 variables to which to succeed in the NHL. 1.The players on your team. 2. The Cap space you have as a team to acquire more players or change the ones you have via trades or free agency. 3. Your farm system. How well you did at the drafting table.
These three items are critical for success. Without the right players you can not win a CUP and if you have older, more expensive,injury prone players that other teams do not WANT then you are stuck. Period !! If you have NO CAP SPACE you can not buy any new talent.Stuck again. If you have no top 10 elite talent in your farm system who can be put on entry level contracts to help pay for the Crosby’s and Kessel’s on your team, yet again your stuck!!
Pretty simple business model.
Pittsburgh’s Problem.
All of the above mentioned. 1.The players. Jimmy has tried to trade some of our stars for the past 2 years and we have NO TAKERS. Does that not say something to you? The only trade they had for Phil Kessel was to Minnesota and honestly that was not a good trade to me.We should not be surprised as Toronto had to give him away to us for peanuts and hold salary to boot. They tried to trade him for over a year before we got him. Letang. Johnson. Hornqvist.??? 2. The salary Cap. We have none to work with.What happens when Murray wants a big raise to 6 or 7 million and Justin Schultz will want 7 million plus next year? With these crazy free agent prices, they could get that much money on an open market. Another point Coach is,young Super star center / winger Mitch Marner of the Leafs may become available. He wants an 11 million dollar, 5 year contract reports say. He is worth every penny as he is an offensive dynamo, who on most nights pays better than Austin Matthews. The leafs will get 4 First round picks as compensation for him under NHL rules. We NEVER KEEP our first round picks any way, so SIGN HIM UP but we have NO CAP SPACE. A real problem!!
We need as a team in 2019 to get CHEAPER, FASTER,YOUNGER,BIGGER, and MORE TALENTED if we want to win again soon.
3. Farm System. You need highly rated players in your farm system for two important reasons. First is to help your team. First and some second round players usually get to play in all the major competitions such as the U-18,U-20 and a few play in the World championships.This elite level of competition brings out the best in a player. The true leaders emerge. This is invaluable to a young player’s fast development in the NHL.Third,fourth,fifth round players, unless they are a Goalie, never experience this level of play.
The second reason the farm system loaded with first and second round picks are so important is that other NHL General managers will WANT them on their team because they know there is a good chance they will develop into NHL talent.Think of them as bargaining chips. Pens do not have very few before yesterday so that made Jimmy’s job ever harder to do previously.
Old,high paid players, past their prime, No Cap Space for the foreseeable future and a farm system that is bare compared with about 14 of the 16 teams in the Eastern Conference.
We have a perfect storm Coach. Sid needs a big right winger with talent to protect him. Geno needs two wingers with elite talent who can skate. Phil needs a center to play with. The fourth line needs a complete make over and get bigger and stronger and can play like St.Louis fourth line did in the play offs. Oscar Sunqvist, an original Penguin played against all top lines and shut them down. Our Defense needs at least 3 new pieces and get rid of the two turn over machines.We leak more than the Titanic. In goal,Murray is good but I know there are a lot better out there playing and a lot of young stars coming up.They beat Murray to his glove side and since the equipment got smaller his average has gone up.
Ready for the good news Coach.
In the 2019 draft, we drafted 21st,74th,145th, and in the last round at 203rd and 211th.We drafted 3 big right winger / forwards. The top 3 are rated appx. 23rd,54th, and the steal, Judd Caufield at 85th.The last 2 do not count in all reality.Better than I expected Coach, but far below what our competition did.
Both Samuel Poulin and Nathan Legare play in the QHL and should one day play top nine forwards for us. Judd Caufield because of his immense size could also see a Pens uniform someday. But in no way should they ever be confused for a Kappo Kakko, Kirby Dach, Dylan Cozens or a Cole Caufield who all can play right wing and at a much higher level.
How did the rest do ?
1. Devils. Drafted 11 times and used their second pick to get PK Subban. 1st,61,70,80,82,96,118,127,129,158,159, ( 7 players rated 88th or below )
2.Carolina. Drafted 11 times.
28,36,44,73,83,90,99,121,152,181,183 ( 7 players rated 87th or below)
3.Detroit. Drafted 11 Times.
6,35,54,60,66,97,128,159,177,190,191, ( 6 players rated 79 th or below)
4. Montreal.Drafted 8 times.( 4 players rated 77th or below )
15,46,64,77,126,131,138.170
5.Florida Drafted 8 times.
11,52,69,81,106,136,137,168
6. Philadelphia Drafted 7 times.( 4 players rated 71st or below )
14,34,72,103,165,169,196
7. NEW YORK RANGERS Drafted 7 times. ( 5 players rated 88th or below)
2,49,58,68,112,130,161,
8.Tampa Drafted 6 times.( 3 players rated 85 or below)
27,71,89,120,182,198
9.Buffalo Drafted 6 times. ( 4 players rated 89 or below)
7,31,67,102,143,160 They had 2 first round picks.
10. Ottawa Drafted 6 times ( 3 players rated 65 or below )
19,32,37,94,125,187
11.Toronto drafted 5 times. ( 2 players rated 62 or below)
53,84,115,124,146
12. Boston drafted 5 times ( 2 players rated 81 or below)
30,92,154,185,192
13. Pens drafted 5 times ( 3 players rated 85 or below)
21,74,145,203,211
14. New York Islanders Drafted 4 times.( 2 players rated 68 or below)
23,57,147.178
15. Washington Drafted 4 times ( 3 players rated 58 or below)
25,56,91,153
16. Columbus Drafted twice.
104,114 Not good for the jackets.
In closing Coach I want to apologize for the length of my reply and my vision has gotten the best of me today my friend, so I can not correct the mistakes.
I need the drops and lay down for a while.
But the whole point of this exercise is to show our fellow readers that STANDING PAT is not an option. The reason Jimmy can not swing deals is he simply does not have the 3 pieces needed as I mentioned above.
I am sure we will expand on this in follow up posts.
Lets GO Pens. Give my best to Rick and Phil..
Cheers
Jim
Hey Jim,
Great Stuff!!!
Lot’s of work too, thanks!
I am not sure though that JR cant trade some of our top players, Letang in particular. I do think that there could be a market. Montreal and at least 1 other team came a courting. The problem is that our Penguins’ Brass seems to over-value certain players, making it hard to deal them.
I am not down on Kessel and more than a little of me is glad he nixed the Minnesota deal. That deal was extremely pathetic. I would have taken a deal with Arizona that would have bought us a top pick, or a deal with Colorado that would have netted us one of their #1s. But I am ok with him staying. I am not one of those people that complains when a Forward scores at 1 pnt/game pace even if he is light on Defense but hypocritically defends a Defenseman that can’t play Defense at all because he picks up points around 0.85/game.
I have read some stuff that suggests that there is a push from above JR to dump Letang and if true I am thankful. It is time to move on while there is a chance to get clear of him. He was not part of the last Cup team and his mistakes cost the team the last 2 playoff seasons. The team also played some of its most consistent hockey without him.
The other piece that the team needs to shed itself of is Sheary 2.0 aka Simon. In fact, in many ways I would rather have Sheary. At least Sheary could find the back of the net, Simon couldn’t hit the ocean with a beach ball.
The biggest problem this team has had over the last couple of seasons has been giving ice time to the wrong players.
With their farm system nearing complete depletion, there is a real problem here for the long term, but the short term doesn’t have to be as bleak as the Coach makes it with his poor personnel decisions and lack of adaptability.
Hi Coach
Lets see what happens the rest of today. A lot of positive comments and interesting info on all the teams were on the draft show last night.It was broadcast live for 3 hours and then a recap show afterwards. They describe in a non partisan way, the state of all the teams and their future as it relates to last night.
Almost everyone said the Pens were a team in decline and changes needed to be made.Made reference to the cupboard being bare and with out cap space you can NOT buy the elite talent needed to win.
We do not draft until the 4 th round today baring any trades. You can not build a championship team drafting 100 th and below ALL the time. I really hope we can get a high 2nd round pick today to go with Poulin. A big scoring center or d man who can play both ends ??
Draft will be starting in Vancouver shortly, and I will post again Coach when it is over. TRUTH IS WE NEED TO DUMP CAP SPACE AND GET 2-3 YOUNGER ( 28 year old free agents ) to replace Letang, Johnson and Horny if we really want to make a run for another CUP.
Lets not fool ourselves there are 30 other teams trying to win the CUP in 2020 and we are NOT close to matching them as we are currently configured.
Great recap my friend..
JIM
Thanks Jim,
Personally, I would have rather had Raphael Lavoie but for a 21st pick, and a team with no natural LWs I do like the pick.
You are right, the Penguins are in a sorry state and seem to be oblivious to their pathos. I am going to hold off going further as I muse a state of the Penguins Off-Season Post. I want to try and write a couple of more positive posts first. Like you I would love to see the team get a 2nd round pick by shedding some dead wood. I started to get some optimism when I read the rumors about 2 teams approaching the GMJR about a possible Letang deal. It was also extremely interesting how fast the “We Love Letang more than the team Group” jumped out with all over their indignation and hypocritical complaints.
I am hopeful but fear that the team didn’t learn its lesson from the Islander Sweep.
Hey Coach, I agree with you. Really big kid who is really fast.
BTW, Edmonton got Raphael Lavoie at 38th. Incredible steal. He was rated 18th by many.
What a 3rd line center behind Mc Davis and Leon Draisitl..
They are at 60th position now and no Pens movement .
Watch New Jersey ? Ray is making magic.
JIM
Hey Coach,
Jimmy made a good deal to get 74th pick from Arizona and drafted Nathan Legare, a 6 foot 205 pound right winger from the QHL.
He was ranked much higher coming into the draft. Mid 40’s.
A sniper. Good move for Pens. 2 big right wingers in Poulin and Legare. Looking good. Lets hope Jimmy can get another pick soon and grab a goalie.
Jimmy gave up 98th, 151 st and 207 th to get the 74 pick.
The clips I have seen of Legare look good. I am surprised he lasted that long. Agreed giving up all those low picks should be worth it for Legare.
Drafting 2 kids over 5-11 makes me wonder if Geurin is running the draft and not JR and Sullivan.
What I worry about is this teams Defense though. I was really hoping they would have dealt Letang, Johnson, and if necessary Kessel to also get a shot at Moritz, but Detroit still snatched him up really early.
I was also hoping that they would have been able to get another high pick in trading the above players so they could grab Matthew Robertson (LHD) but NYR grabbed him with the 49th pick.
Hey Coach
Jimmy took big 6’3″, 207 # forward Judd Caufield from USHL hockey program. TSN had him ranked 85th ( combined over all ) and NHL central scouting had him ranked 67th among North American Skaters. Big kid… Not to shabby for drafting 145 th. We have one last pick at 207 th.
Cheers,
Jim
With the lack of depth in goal, it couldn’t hurt to go after a goalie with their last pick.
Hey Coach
Draft is done.
We picked at # 203 rd.
Drafted an Unrated,over aged 20 year old Russian winger Vatteri Puustinen.He is listed at 5’9″ 179 # .
Then Jimmy traded for the # 211 pick and he picked
D man Santeri Airola. He is 5’11”,172 #. Rated # 130 of European players only by NHL Central Scouting.I can not find a credible combined rating of NHL/ European combined at this low pick level.
I am going to do an over all post later to give my views and compare us to other teams on how well they did today. It will put everything in perspective.
We did better than I expected but honestly we are NO where near the caliber of other teams. Their systems are getting stronger by the year.
We drafted today,( draft rated ) a 24th, 46th, 85th forwards and a 200+ rated d man and an over aged, unrated Russian .
One team by comparison has a 3rd, 13th,29th, 75th,79th,100th,126th,and top 6 Goalie. Big difference.
New Jersey drafted 11 times today and did very well. Plus they got PK Subban as well.
Times are a changing Coach.
With out real cap space we can NOT get any better asap. A 2020 Cup win is a pipe dream as we stand today. I heard Jimmy said all we have to do is play better as a Team and we can win in 2020 ! REALLY.
Look at Boston,Toronto,Tampa,Flyers,Islanders, Washington,Carolina,New Jersey, Montreal,Florida and even lowly Ottawa all got better in our conference.
I will post in detail later tonight Coach.
But as I said above,Jimmy did better than I thought he would.
Now he needs to trade Letang and Tristan Jarry to Edmonton and get Center Raphael Lavoie and maybe RW Jesse Puljujarvi back and free up major cap space.
Cheers
Jim
Agreed, the Penguins didn’t do too bad with their limited picks but their Status Quo mentality has them sinking into the Western Sky at an alarming rate.
They passed on several key European Free Agents, although they got some interesting names in the draft, they had way too few picks.
And they seem to be asking way too much for Letang. With 2-teams interested in the right handed Penguins misfit Defenseman, they will in all likelihood be starting the season with nearly the same team that got their heads handed to them by the Islanders.
Who knows, maybe Sullivan did learn his lesson’s from last year. Maybe he will be open to sitting poor defensemen with big contracts and using more than one rookie and actually starting the season out with a couple of them on the opening night roster.