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NYI Point Blank
2012 DRAFT PROFILE – Derrick Pouliot, D, Portland (WHL)
2012 DRAFT PROFILE – Derrick Pouliot, D, Portland (WHL)
Source: NYI Point Blank by Alan Avital
Each week until the entry draft in June, Point Blank will be reporting on the top prospects in this summer’s NHL Entry Draft. This week’s profile is defender Derrick Pouliot, ranked as the 12th best North American skater in the final CSS rankings. You can keep a watch on our profiles via the “2012 Draft” tab at the top of the page and check out profiles of Islanders’ young guns filed under the “NYI Prospects” tab. We’re also working on a mock draft, which will be published in early June.
As the Los Angeles Kings, Phoenix Coyotes, New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers take aim on collision courses in their respective Conference Finals, the other 26 NHL organizations – thirsting for future postseason success – have already begun working diligently on their own particular offseason plans.
Having to decide which free agent – unrestricted or restricted – to either retain or pursue is a discussion that has been or should be bandied about in pro personnel offices throughout the league, with free agency commencing on July 1. However, what could determine the direction a specific organization might take in free agency could hinge on the success it has just a week earlier at the 2012 NHL Entry Draft in Pittsburgh.
Scouting departments have scoured talent all throughout Europe, Canada and the United States over the past 12-to-24 months, in hopes of finding that next diamond in the rough. Some organizations, such as Montreal, Buffalo and Toronto are seeking top-six forwards to complement a defense corps, budding with blue-chip talent. Other franchises, such as Tampa Bay, Columbus and the Islanders have accrued a bevy of young forwards over the past few drafts, yet lack the depth on the back-end to take that necessary step to pursue that coveted playoff berth.
Teams pursuing the next Drew Doughty, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Adam Larsson and Dan Girardi on defense need to look no further than Canada’s Western Hockey League (WHL), where an expected four blue-liners – Everett’s Ryan Murray, Moose Jaw’s Morgan Rielly, Edmonton’s Griffin Reinhart and Red Deer’s Matthew Dumba – could hear their names called amongst the draft’s top-10 overall selections.
Portland’s Derrick Pouliot, a six-foot, 190-pound defenseman, hailing from Weyburn, Saskatchewan, is making his case to be mentioned with the aforementioned quartet, after anchoring the Winterhawks’ defense through a second-consecutive WHL postseason run.
“Having the other top defensemen in our league provides great competition night in and night out,” said Pouliot, who models his game after both the “calm & collected” Nicklas Lidstrom and the “highly intense” Doughty. “For me, personally, I use the direct competition as a measuring stick of where I am now, and what I need to do to get better for the future.”
In his latest draft rankings, TSN’s Craig Button has pegged Pouliot as his 17th overall prospect – ninth amongst defensemen.
Ironically, both Pouliot and three of his Western Hockey League foes have grown accustomed to being linked to one another. Back in the 2009 WHL Bantam Draft, a then 15-year-old Pouliot was selected first overall by Portland, ahead of Rielly, Reinhart and Dumba, who were chosen second, third and fourth overall by their respective teams.
“In the year that we drafted him (Derrick) first overall, he was the consensus number one pick,” said Winterhawks fourth-year head coach and general manager Mike Johnston, who joined the organization back in 2008, after serving as an associate coach in both Vancouver (1999-2006) and Los Angeles (2007-08). “We were excited to get a defenseman who could handle the puck, and also be a great decision maker.”
Pouliot registered an impressive 63 points – 25 goals and 38 assists – in just 26 games, playing in his final season – 2008-09 – locally with Weyburn in the South Saskatchewan Minor Hockey League (SMHL), prior to being drafted by the Winterhawks.
As a rookie, Pouliot split time with both Moose Jaw Midget ‘AAA’ and Portland. At Moose Jaw, Pouliot continued his torrid offensive pace, by collecting 43 points – 14 goals and 29 assists – in 43 games. In the midst of his final ‘AAA’ season, Pouliot would get a taste of WHL hockey on January 2, 2010 against Saskatoon, just two weeks prior to his 16th birthday. Playing in seven games, the 15-year-old would notch an assist.
Draped with a gold-medal around his neck, after helping Team Canada win the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament later that summer in the Czech Republic, Pouliot returned to the Winterhawk lineup in the fall with a full-time spot all sewn up.
Playing alongside eight 2010 NHL draftees – a Winterhawk franchise record – including fourth overall pick Ryan Johanson (selected by Columbus) and fifth overall selection Nino Niederreiter (selected by the Islanders), Pouliot never felt out of place. In 66 games, Pouliot recorded 30 points – five goals and 25 assists.
“Playing with Ryan and Nino – two very good players to learn from – they made things very easy for me,” said Pouliot, whose 30 points tied him for 16th amongst WHL rookies.
The Winterhawks finished atop the Western Conference standings with 103 points, and would reach the 2010-11 WHL Championship Series, before being bounced by the Kootenay Ice in five games. Pouliot scored a goal, and added three assists in 21 playoff games.
“Derrick played with great poise and calmness, from the get-go,” said Johnston. “And even though he stands six-feet tall, and most likely won’t get any taller, he is a very difficult guy to knock around and get off the puck.”
With an eye on this summer’s entry draft, one would expect Pouliot to be riddled with emotion and anxiety, as this past regular season began. Yet, Pouliot calmness on the ice is predicated by his coolness off of it.
“When I go to the office, I’m not really that different than I am outside of it,” said Pouliot. “I try to keep to myself, and I’m not really as outgoing as others.
“The only part of me that is any different is that I am much more intense on the ice. I am also a lot meaner.”
Handed over the proverbial keys – along with running mate Joseph Morrow (a 2011 first round selection by Pittsburgh) – to run the Winterhawk defense by Johnston, Pouliot nearly doubled his offensive output, while playing in just six more games. He registered 59 points – 11 goals and 48 assists – in 72 regular season games.
Pouliot’s 59-point total was fourth amongst WHL defenders. Only Spokane’s Brendan Kichton (74) – a 2011 fifth-round selection by the Islanders – Morrow (64) and Brandon Wheat Kings’ Ryan Pulock (60) finished ahead of Pouliot.
“Derrick has gotten a lot stronger this season.” said Johnston, who sees Pouliot’s game very similar to that of former New Jersey Devils and Anaheim Ducks standout defenseman Scott Niedermeyer. “He has shown the ability to make the right decision when we need him to make one.”
Pouliot, Morrow and Sven Bartschi, a 2011 first round selection by the Calgary Flames, led the Winterhawks to another successful regular season, finishing with 102 points (49-19-3-1). The Winterhawks, seeded third in the 2012 Western Conference playoffs, swept past sixth-seeded Kelowna in the opening round. They then upended second-seeded Kamloops, winning a hard-fought Western Conference semifinal series in seven games. The Winterhawks would capture its second consecutive Western Conference postseason championship, after steamrolling top-seeded Tri-City in four straight.
Currently, the Winterhawks and the Edmonton Oil Kings – the 2012 Eastern Conference playoff champions – are in the heat of a classic Western Hockey League Championship battle. The teams have split the first six games of its best-of-seven series. The deciding Game 7 will take place tonight in Edmonton. The winner will punch its ticket to the 2012 Memorial Cup Championship, set to begin on May 18 in Shawinigan. The host Shawinigan Cataractes, the QMJHL champion Saint John Sea Dogs and the OHL champion London Knights await the WHL champions in the four-team, round robin tournament.
In 21 postseason games, Pouliot has collected 17 points – three goals and 14 assists – which is tops in the WHL amongst defensemen.
“Derrick has a great passion for the game,” said Johnston. “While he is obviously going to be linked with the other top defensemen in our league, their games are so different.
“Dumba plays like Phaneuf. Murray is an all-around defenseman. Rielly is a dynamic skater. Reinhart is a big body defenseman. As far as Derrick is concerned, he is a hard worker, who goes about his business in his own way – there are no highs and no lows.”
While reserved, Pouliot is quite confident that his skill-set should indeed be mentioned in the same breath as his league foes.
“My skating and my vision with the puck are my greatest strengths,” said Pouliot, who began skating on a local rink at three years old, and grew up a huge fan of Joe Sakic and the Colorado Avalanche. “Each day, I work on excelling on both ends, especially on the defensive end.”
While Pouliot hasn’t set a personal timeline on when he will be ready to take that next step onto the NHL stage, he is surely enjoying the undertaking.
“There is going to be great excitement for me and my family on draft day,” said Pouliot. “It is one of the things that I am definitely looking forward to.
“I would love to play in the NHL next year, but I don’t want to rush the process.”
Recently, Doug Weight – an Islanders Assistant Coach and Special Assistant to General Manager Garth Snow – gave his assessment of June’s NHL Entry Draft on NHL Live, proclaiming that picks 4-through-20 are “pretty equal”. Could that evaluation entice the Islanders to trade out of its present fourth position and secure multiple assets from either of the three teams – Tampa Bay (10 & 19), Washington (11 & 16) or Buffalo (12 &21) – with a pair of first round selections. If so, a future top-four defenseman like Pouliot could come into play.
When asked about the possibility of joining former teammate Niederreiter on Long Island, Pouliot recalled the brief conversation he had with the six-foot-2 Swiss forward back in September.
“Nino told me that he really likes it there (on Long Island),” said Pouliot. “He said it was a great organization. He was having a lot of fun.”
The 2012 NHL Draft is just 40 days away.
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