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Sam Pouliot relishing chance to rejoin Rebels

Sam Pouliot had a smile a mile wide Thursday at Red Deer Rebels practice.

Sam Pouliot had a smile a mile wide Thursday at Red Deer Rebels practice.

The fresh-faced rookie defenceman was finally back in the Rebels lineup Wednesday night after an 11-game stint in Junior A with the Powell River Kings of the BCHL.

“I thought it was good getting back into the pace. It took a couple shifts to get used to it again but after that, I thought we all did well as a group,” Pouliot said.

Red Deer was desperate for some help on the backend after veteran Colin Paradis went down in Brandon on Saturday and is now out indefinitely. Alex Alexeyev just returned to Red Deer Thursday after spending almost three weeks in Russia. He will likely need a couple days before jumping back into the lineup.

Pouliot came to the rescue in a big way Wednesday night against Calgary when the Rebels picked up a 3-2 shootout win, earning praise from head coach Brent Sutter.

“Pouls coming in, played really well. Coming in back from Junior A and getting a chance to play. He did a good job and we needed that from him,” Sutter said.

The defenceman from Vancouver played sparingly in his first go-around with the Rebels. From October to Dec. 6, he played in only 12 games. In December, he was scratched for most of the games before being sent to Powell River. He had one goal in his first 12 contests in Red Deer.

The 16-year-old has returned to a team that is in a completely different spot from the place it was when he left. Pouliot was sent to the BCHL on Jan. 11, with the Rebels in the middle of a 10-game losing streak. But since Jan. 23, the tides have turned significantly, with the Rebels winning six of their last eight games and picking up points in all eight.

“It’s awesome to see. I think we were 14 points behind before I left now we’re four points away. It’s been a good run the last little bit,” he said.

“It’s more positive here, everyone is really working together for that playoff spot.”

For his part, Rebels associate coach Jeff Truitt said the coaching staff has always liked Pouliot’s game, but he was particularly effective by making the easy plays in the contest against Calgary.

“He did a great job, kept things simple and just moved pucks and didn’t get into much trouble at all. That’s what you need out of your younger guys,” Truitt said.

“He’s a good defenceman. He sees things, he’s physical and he gets in the way of people plus he just keeps it real simple. You appreciate those type of guys.”

While Pouliot is back in a familiar situation in Red Deer, the youngster is no stranger to making a new home. He was born in Ottawa, Ont., then moved to Dallas, Texas, when he was just two years old. Then it was off to Vancouver at age 11 and that’s where he played most of his minor hockey. He said those formative years in Texas taught him a lot about the commitment to the game.

“That’s where I started to play, you really only play games by doing tournaments, we did six tournaments a year. Pretty fun, traveled around a lot,” he said.

Whatever the final 18 games on the Rebels schedule hold for Pouliot, he’s happy to be back for now.

“It’s good, nice to be back and play in Red Deer again and play with some of the guys,” he said.



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Byron Hackett

About the Author: Byron Hackett

Byron has been the sports reporter at the advocate since December of 2016. He likes to spend his time in cold hockey arenas accompanied by luke warm, watered down coffee.
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