Sam Pouliot got into the goal column early on in his WHL career.
Just six games in the rookie defender notched his first marker, a lucky bounce perhaps, but a memorable one none the less.
“I was on the blue line and I think Pratter was trying to get it to our guy in the slot, it just popped out and I tried to get it past the forward and it went in,” Pouliot recalled.
The 16-year-old scored against the Kootenay Ice last Friday, the same team his older brother Ryan mans the blue line for. Ryan overshadowed his little brothers big night with a game-winner.
Great night for the Pouliot brothers. Both score.....Ryan first star ⭐️ with the game winner 🚨. Photo Credit>> Brad McLeod pic.twitter.com/loG7pk4IgK
— Kootenay ICE (@WHLKootenayICE) November 18, 2017
“It was cool, I’ve never played against him in my life so playing in the WHL against him was pretty cool,” Sam, a North Vancouver, B.C., native said.
Just seven games into his first year in the WHL, Rebels associate coach Jeff Truitt said their Pouliot has made tremendous strides to start the year.
“He’s a quiet type of defenceman that takes the body and makes simple plays. He’s not a dynamic guy but he does all the good little things. Good first passes, his coverage has been fine. He likes to be physical. He’s really progressed over the last little while,” Truitt said.
Cast in the same mould of his brother, who also played 16 games for the Rebels as a 17-year-old and is a veteran of 128 games in the WHL?
“There’s a lot of similarities between the two, I like what we’ve seen in Sam since he’s been injected in the lineup,” Truitt added.
Sam, for all his effort this year knows he still has a lot to learn about playing in the WHL. He learned a bit from his brother, but he said mostly it’s been trial by fire and every game he gets into he’s becoming more comfortable with the pace and speed of the game.
“I thought it was going to be a lot harder to do, but I think with our team and the coaching it’s been really easy to transition,” he said.
“(Ryan) said just work hard every practice and stick with it because you’ll get an opportunity and make sure you use it.”
Truitt also noted there are still big improvements Sam will need to make if he hopes to earn more time on the blue line this year.
“Obviously strength and quickness and awareness, with and without the puck positionally,” Truitt said.
“I don’t think he’s going to turn into an offensive juggernaut. He’s a guy that’s just a safe defenceman right now and we want to continue to progress him in a defensive role. He’s got that structure in his game right now. Anything we can get offensively on top of that is a bonus.”
At six-foot and a slight 165 pounds the defenceman also hopes to see some growth in the upcoming campaign, but regardless will keep up the physical style he likes to play.
“It’s just a mindset. He knows what he is and he knows he has to be physical. We’re not asking him to rush the puck up ice, he’s just aware of what’s around him and makes the simple first play, gets the momentum up from our back end to our front end,” Truitt said.
The young d-man from North Vancouver is just hoping to embrace the experience and get better as the year goes on.
“I’m excited just to get into the lineup and make a name for myself in the league, pretty excited for that,” he said.
Email sports tips to Byron Hackett
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