DERRICK POULIOT - Defenseman - 25 - $.700MM Cap Hit - RFA in 2020-2021
LAST UPDATED 8/20/19
As a former 8th overall pick, Derrick Pouliot has been a significant bust. He wasn't a fit in Pittsburgh, couldn't find his place in the regular lineup of a contending team, and struggled even in the limited ice time he got. Pouliot then was sent to Vancouver, where he could develop more with a longer leash and more NHL ice time on a team not set on competing immediately, but he didn't fit in Vancouver either and struggled with the nuances of the defensive game. He proved to be a liability on the ice, and Vancouver gave up on him. St. Louis took a cheap chance on him, and if he can't prove himself to be of value as a Blue his chances may run out at the NHL level. Pouliot still shows flashes of high-end offensive talent. He can skate decently well, has good puck skills, and some good offensive instincts. Good offensive plays aren't foreign to Pouliot, and he can surprise by being a self-starter and true offensive generator from the back end. That being said, that mobility as a defenseman comes with some drawbacks. Pouliot has always played an aggressive offensive style, and as a result his defensive game, still, for an age-25, is quite raw. He can look lost in his own end and struggles with the physicality of the defensive game. He gets muscled out of position, struggles in coverage, and will in general be a liability on defense, as his poor play in his own end is compounded by his proclivity for neutral zone turnovers. I think that Pouliot still has some offensive upside, but his defensive game is too far away from being passable for me to believe in any sort of high-end future for Pouliot. If he can manage even just below-average defense, he can probably be a passable puck-moving #6 who needs to be sheltered by a defensive partner. But I'm far from certain his defensive game will ever get there, and I'm pessimistic about his NHL chances. I think that playing on another rebuilding team could help Pouliot, giving him a long leash, but that's already been tried and it didn't work, and I think that teams would struggle to find good reason to give 17 minutes of ice time per night to a soon-to-be 26 year old Pouliot rather than one of the organization's own prospects. I hope for Pouliot that he sorts things out, but as of right now he's an AHL puck moving defenseman.
As a former 8th overall pick, Derrick Pouliot has been a significant bust. He wasn't a fit in Pittsburgh, couldn't find his place in the regular lineup of a contending team, and struggled even in the limited ice time he got. Pouliot then was sent to Vancouver, where he could develop more with a longer leash and more NHL ice time on a team not set on competing immediately, but he didn't fit in Vancouver either and struggled with the nuances of the defensive game. He proved to be a liability on the ice, and Vancouver gave up on him. St. Louis took a cheap chance on him, and if he can't prove himself to be of value as a Blue his chances may run out at the NHL level. Pouliot still shows flashes of high-end offensive talent. He can skate decently well, has good puck skills, and some good offensive instincts. Good offensive plays aren't foreign to Pouliot, and he can surprise by being a self-starter and true offensive generator from the back end. That being said, that mobility as a defenseman comes with some drawbacks. Pouliot has always played an aggressive offensive style, and as a result his defensive game, still, for an age-25, is quite raw. He can look lost in his own end and struggles with the physicality of the defensive game. He gets muscled out of position, struggles in coverage, and will in general be a liability on defense, as his poor play in his own end is compounded by his proclivity for neutral zone turnovers. I think that Pouliot still has some offensive upside, but his defensive game is too far away from being passable for me to believe in any sort of high-end future for Pouliot. If he can manage even just below-average defense, he can probably be a passable puck-moving #6 who needs to be sheltered by a defensive partner. But I'm far from certain his defensive game will ever get there, and I'm pessimistic about his NHL chances. I think that playing on another rebuilding team could help Pouliot, giving him a long leash, but that's already been tried and it didn't work, and I think that teams would struggle to find good reason to give 17 minutes of ice time per night to a soon-to-be 26 year old Pouliot rather than one of the organization's own prospects. I hope for Pouliot that he sorts things out, but as of right now he's an AHL puck moving defenseman.
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