In 2019, the Pittsburgh Penguins decided to keep their first-round pick. Deciding that the future rebuild would one day arrive, former general manager Jim Rutherford hung onto the team's first-round pick for the first time since 2014 and selected Sam Poulin 21st overall.
Poulin, 24, was a big body from the QMJHL and was seen as a potential power forward or middle-six center. For those who advocate keeping draft picks, Poulin's progression has been anything but a classic case study.
Poulin spent a couple of seasons in juniors after being drafted, and then mostly four seasons with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins . He's had a few shots with the NHL club, playing 13 games over those seasons, registering just a pair of assists.
Mental health issues have also plagued Poulin. He stepped away from the game in 2022-23, playing just 18 combined games (three with the Penguins , 15 with WBS). It's been a struggle for the former first-rounder.
However, this fall, the team has begun to see the player they wanted. His camp performance thus far has been perhaps his very best.
"You know, the last couple of years I was, not to use this as an excuse, but I was dealing with mental health issues, and I think it was affecting my game quite a bit," Poulin told PHN. "So, I dealt with what I had to deal with, and I'm just in a good headspace, and I just want to play hockey and win and be a part of that team."
Poulin doesn't yet have a goal in preseason, but that's probably not going to be his game in the NHL, now or in the future. At 6-foot-1, 227 pounds, he can be a defensive bruiser. WBS coach Kirk MacDonald relied heavily upon Poulin to protect leads in WBS, as he is able to lock down the D-zone, but also do the heavy lifting necessary with the game on the line.
And he just might drop the gloves a few more times, though he's not necessarily looking to do it. His scrap against Montreal Canadiens tough guy Jared Davidson was a heavyweight bout.
Poulin downplayed that his skating has improved, but his conditioning has. So, too, has Poulin's confidence.
"I feel really confident. Honestly. I feel like my game is exactly where I want it to be. And, you know, I'm just going one day at a time here," Poulin said. "But yeah, I'm really, really happy about where I'm at from the start of training camp."
While Poulin is a long shot to make the roster next week, if he remains with the organization, there is a chance he'll get another shot at some point in the season.
Better late than never.
Aidan McDonough, 25, was one of the surprises of the Penguins' training camp . The 2019 seventh-round pick signed with the Vancouver Canucks in 2022-23 following four years at Northeastern University and played six games with the Canucks.
He spent the following season with the AHL Abbotsford Canucks and was not tendered a qualifying offer, signing an AHL free agent deal with the Charlotte Checkers.
He got off to a red-hot start with Charlotte, scoring 16 points (10-6-16) in 16 games, but then suffered a season-ending broken femur.
"I broke my leg–I got in a fight in November and fell on it awkwardly," McDonough told PHN. "And it broke my left fibula. I tried to rehab it, come back, and unfortunately, it didn't get any better. So I had to get surgery in February."
McDonough signed an AHL deal with the Penguins. The 6-foot-3, 201-pound left wing was not shy with the puck. In his last preseason game, he led the Penguins forwards with three shots.
He also wasn't shy about sticking up for teammates. If it means getting to the show, the big winger wouldn't mind dropping the gloves, even if it was what ended his 2024-25 season.
"I think I'd like to add (fighting). I think it's something that, as a bigger guy, I don't mind playing physical," McDonough told this reporter. "I don't mind going to the dirty areas. And you know, if it's a dirty hit on my teammate, you know, I don't mind doing.
He's now in the Penguins' AHL camp, but he's also got a good role model on his path. Former Penguins winger Zach Aston-Reese was an undrafted free agent from Northeastern and spent most of five seasons with the Penguins.
"I think in college, I was relied on heavily to score goals, which I still love to do, and I can do … But I think there's a lot of stuff (I've learned), like being able to protect the puck, the awareness to put a puck behind a d-man, and not trying to make a play," McDonough said. "And also just my confidence in the overall pro game (has grown). You know, my first year, I was a bit timid. I was kind of hoping to score on the power play and didn't really realize what I needed to do in order to have success at the pro-level, which is to go to the net, carry pucks, hold onto pucks, compete, and finish checks.
"I just think it's an awareness that sometimes just takes time for certain guys."
The post Two Penguins to Watch for Very Different Reasons; Poulin Gets Healthy appeared first on Pittsburgh Hockey Now .
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