Height: 6'1"
Weight: 201 lbs
Birthdate: April 12th, 1990 (21 years old)
Birthplace: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Acquired: Draft, 5th round, 126th overall, 2008 NHL Entry Draft
2010-2011 Teams: Bridgeport Sound Tigers/New York Islanders
2010-2011 Stats (BPT): 15 GP - 2.19 GAA - .932% SV PCT
2010-2011 Stats (NYI): 10 GP - 2.44 GAA - .924% SV PCT
2011-2012 Team: Bridgeport Sound Tigers/New York Islanders (emergency callup)
Last year: After a very solid and quite impressive final year in the QMJHL with Victoriaville, Poulin was assigned to full time work at Bridgeport to split time with Mikko Koskinen. In the 15 games he started, Poulin was an absolute brick wall. He put up some of the best numbers in the league for the time being and was one of the main reasons Bridgeport was still competitive at the time. When yet another injury hit Rick DiPietro, Poulin was called up to split time with Nathan Lawson. After a poor start by Lawson in a game against Edmonton, Poulin came in and played lights out netminding, even though the Islanders would end up losing that game. In the next 10 games, Poulin showed that he was just about ready for the NHL, putting up spectacular numbers for a 20 year old in a league filled with players almost entirely older than him and professionals. Though he did look shaky at times specifically in a game against Colorado where he gave up the tying goal late in the game, Poulin showed spectacular athleticism and netminding skills that showed to many fans that he was our goalie of the future. However, in a pre-game warmup, Poulin hit a part of the crease awkwardly with his leg, twisted it, and dislocated his kneecap, requiring season ending surgery. This was the second occurance of a dislocated kneecap for Poulin, worrying many about his health in the future.
Expectations: Poulin was declared healthy and is ready to go for this season. With 3 NHL goalies (DiPietro, Nabokov, Montoya) in the running for the #1 spot this season, it's doubtful Poulin will be the backup this season as some had hoped prior to his injury. Poulin will however almost certainly be the #1 goalie for Bridgeport and hopefully will stay healthy for the entire season and play a solid 45+ games. After Mikko Koskinen's poor showing in the rookie game, it's most likely that Poulin will be splitting a decent amount of time with Anders Nilsson who recently signed an ELC with the Isles. If his numbers in the AHL at 20 were an indication of anything, his numbers at 21 with NHL experience under his belt should be extremely impressive, especially with a revamped defense with the additions of Matt Donovan, Calvin De Haan and Aaron Ness.
Projections: GP 48 - 2.13 GAA - .930 SV PCT
Thoughts: Poulin certainly has showed the potential to be our goalie of the future, but his health is a very worrying thing to have in your subconscious, especially with a #1 overall pick with reoccuring knee injuries who continues to try and come back. The injury itself was not the worrying part, but the fact that it was the second of its type and the fact that it occurred in pre-game warmups on an innocent stride on the ice, not an actual game situation. If his knee is back as healthy as he says it is - not that he'd say otherwise - Bridgeport is going to compete for the Calder Cup. Make no doubt about it. He is an absolute stone wall when on his game, and as we saw in the Stanley Cup finals, goaltending can help almost on a sole basis to secure victories. We will pray to the hockey gods to keep Kevin Poulin's knee, as well as the rest of his body, safe from harm. His athleticism and style of play which are very reminiscent of Patrick Roy can lead the Islanders to a place we've desired to return for so long.
CH: Poulin established himself as a legitimate top prospect for the Islanders last season, and that is something I would expect to carry over into this upcoming season. He is extremely athletic and technically sound, as well as being a fierce competitor. His only real downside is his injury risk - after two knee surgeries, the jury is out on the young netminder to see if he can maintain his level of play. That said, he and Anders Nilsson are likely to single-handedly keep the Sound Tigers competitive this season, which should be a great experience. Poulin's time will certainly come as an Islander goaltender. The only question is how high can ge raise his game. If our thoughts are correct, we haven't seen much of anything yet.
No comments:
Post a Comment