Born: August 11, 1994
Position: Goaltender
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 174 lbs.
Hometown: Calgary, Alta.
2009-2010 team: Calgary Royal Gold
Draft eligible: 2012
Player info: Bolton Pouliot is expected to backup Rebels elder netminder Darcy Kuemper through the 2010-11 season.
The 16-year-old goaltender basically secured the full-time back-up berth with his play through camp and the Black and White intrasquad game and looked stellar in the preseason.
The fact that Pouliot was able to maintain his composure in his first-ever WHL contest was a testament to the training he received at the Goalie Development Institute in Calgary during the summer.
“I worked with a mental trainer, Shaun Smith, at GDI,” said the six-foot-one netminder.
“We worked on making sure I don’t get too up or down. Shaun really stressed the importance of staying level-headed and he probably helped me get this far.”
Pouliot, selected in the seventh round of the 2009 WHL bantam draft, enjoyed a strong season with the minor midget AAA Calgary Royals last winter and didn’t disappoint the Rebels scouts who caught him in action.
“Our scouts told us that he’d push for a spot here this year,” said Rebels head coach/vice-president of hockey operations Jesse Wallin.
“Until you see him yourself, it’s really hard to tell, but he certainly had a very good training camp and last night the screws tightened up a bit. He moved up to the next step, the preseason, and I thought he handled that really well. We’ll see he continues to progress.”
Wallin is confident that Pouliot has all the tools to progress into a capable and perhaps superior WHL goaltender.