Penguins Recall Samuel Poulin
The Penguins announced that they have recalled right-winger Samuel Poulin from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Center Kevin Hayes was transferred to injured reserve to open an active roster spot.
Poulin, now 23, was Pittsburgh’s first-round selection in the 2019 draft. They selected him 21st overall, a tad higher than the consensus at the time, ahead of names like Connor McMichael and Shane Pinto. He’d been taken second overall in the QMJHL Entry Draft by the Sherbrooke Phoenix just two years prior, and he’d started his major junior career on the right foot with 45 goals, 76 assists, and 121 points through 122 appearances over two seasons before being plucked by the Penguins.
After another two years of high-end offensive performances in the Q, Poulin turned pro and began the 2021-22 season on assignment to WBS. Injuries and a lengthy leave of absence to focus on his mental health have limited his games played and overall performance significantly since then, though. 2022-23 was a low point – while he did make his NHL debut that season amid a three-game call-up, he was limited to just four goals in 15 AHL contests. Last year, though, he seemed to gain some traction back with 31 points (16 G, 15 A) in 41 appearances with the Baby Pens, the best point-per-game showing of his AHL career by a wide margin.
In 2024-25, Poulin was waiver-eligible for the first time, leading to a fair amount of speculation that he’d make the team out of camp purely out of fear of losing him on the wire. That didn’t happen, though, and Poulin cleared waivers without incident in early October and began the season back in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. He’s got three goals and six assists for nine points in his first 11 games, tying him for second in scoring.
Poulin now looks to see NHL ice for the third year in a row after three-game showings in each of the last two seasons. In those combined six appearances, he has one assist, a -4 rating, four shots on goal and eight hits while going 13-for-29 on draws and averaging 8:53 per game. He’s no longer among the league’s top 100 prospects, but McKeen’s Hockey still ranks him as the seventh-best up-and-comer in the Pens’ system. He can remain on Pittsburgh’s roster for up to 30 days or play 10 games before he requires waivers again to head back to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
As for Hayes, he was downgraded to week-to-week yesterday with an upper-body injury. The IR placement only rules him out for tonight’s game against the Stars, but he’ll miss more time than that.
Waiver Wire: 10/4/24
According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman all 17 players on waivers yesterday have cleared. There are again several players to hit the wire today as reported by Friedman:
Anaheim Ducks
Boston Bruins
G Michael DiPietro
F Vinni Lettieri
D Jordan Oesterle
Florida Panthers
Los Angeles Kings
New Jersey Devils
F Justin Dowling
F Mike Hardman
F Samuel Laberge
F Nathan Légaré
F Maxwell Willman
Philadelphia Flyers
F Olle Lycksell
F Anthony Richard
Pittsburgh Penguins
F Emil Bemström
D Nate Clurman
F Jonathan Gruden
F Joona Koppanen
D Filip Král
D John Ludvig
F Samuel Poulin
Tampa Bay Lightning
Toronto Maple Leafs
Washington Capitals
Penguins Sign Sam Poulin To Two-Year Extension
The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed young forward Sam Poulin to a two-year two-way contract extension with an average annual value of $775K. The contract runs through the 2025-26 season and likely signals that the Penguins expect the 23-year-old to break the NHL roster next season after he played just six NHL games over the past two seasons including three games this past year in which he went scoreless. Thus far in his limited NHL action, Poulin has tallied a single assist.
Poulin would have become a restricted free agent on July 1st. His new contract will break down as follows (Figures courtesy of PuckPedia):
- Year 1: $775K NHL/$100K AHL
- Year 2: $775K NHL/$325K AHL
The Penguins 2019 first-round pick (21st overall) spent the bulk of the 2023-24 season with the Penguins American Hockey League affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton where he had an offensive breakthrough posting 16 goals and 15 assists in 41 games. Poulin’s 31 points ranked him fourth on the team in scoring and was his best offensive season in professional hockey despite dealing with injuries and illness for a big chunk of the year.
The Blainville, Quebec native likely would have seen more time at the NHL level but the timing of his injuries was unfortunate as he found himself hurt on several occasions when Pittsburgh needed to bring players up from the AHL. When he was eventually recalled after the NHL trade deadline, he was ill on multiple occasions which led to him being scratched for much of his stay on the NHL roster.
Poulin will have ample opportunities to make the Penguins out of training camp as the Penguins have been underwhelmed by the offensive output of their bottom six forwards for several seasons in a row.
Penguins Notes: Prospects, Injuries, Rebuild
Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas had an eventful locker-room cleanout, sharing plenty of news, updates, and plans with the media following the end of the season. Most exciting of the bunch was Dubas’ support of the team’s young prospects, sharing that he expects forwards Brayden Yager, Vasili Ponomarev, and Sam Poulin; defenseman Owen Pickering; and goaltender Joel Blomqvist to each compete for NHL roles next season, shares Rob Rossi of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Penguins fans will hope that their GM is right as he alludes to young talents holding onto lineup roles. Pittsburgh carried the oldest roster in the NHL this season, with an average age of 29.78 per EliteProspects.
They’ll certainly get plenty of talent in the names Dubas mentioned. Both Yager and Pickering spent the season in the WHL. Yager had a career year, scoring 35 goals and 95 points and adding five points in five World Juniors games. Pickering also recorded career-high scoring – though not with as much of a jump as Yager – netting 46 points in 59 games to top his 45-point season last year. Meanwhile, Blomqvist served as the starter for the Wilkes-Barre/Scanton Penguins, recording a dazzling .921 save percentage in 44 games.
Other notes from Pittsburgh’s cleanout:
- Dubas also shared that legacy defenseman Kris Letang will be getting a second opinion on if he needs surgery this summer to address an undisclosed injury, per Seth Rorabaugh of the Tribune-Review. Rorabaugh also mentioned that Matthew Nieto suffered another injury following his surgery in January, and will seek a second opinion on if surgery or rehab is the next step. Emil Bemstrom is also hurt, finishing the season with a concussion. Nothing was made about these injuries being alarming, though Penguins fans will want to keep a close eye on Letang’s recovery. The future Hall-of-Famer appeared in all 82 games this season, but reportedly played through injury down the stretch.
- Dubas hinted at an interesting approach in his press conference, saying that the Penguins wanted to approach their rebuild similar to how the Los Angeles Kings have approached theirs, per The Athletic’s Josh Yohe (Twitter link). The Kings have managed a fairly quick rebuild – if this year’s postseason berth signifies success – while maintaining key veterans like Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty. The Penguins will approach things similarly, looking to build around their long-time core of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Letang. The Kings were aggressive in the open market, acquiring Phillip Danault, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Kevin Fiala, and Vladislav Gavrikov. One has to think Michael Bunting and Erik Karlsson represent two of these impactful additions, though Pittsburgh will need to continue addding if they want to claw back into the postseason.
Penguins Reassign Sam Poulin, Recall Radim Zohorna
The Penguins announced that right-wing Samuel Poulin has been assigned to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. His roster spot will go to left-wing Radim Zohorna, who was recalled from WBS in a corresponding move.
Poulin has been on the Penguins roster for most days since he was recalled on an emergency loan on March 26, although he’s been returned to the Baby Pens and promptly recalled twice in that span. He played three games to close out last month, his first NHL stint of the season, going without a point and posting a -1 rating while averaging only 7:47 per game. He’s been a healthy scratch in four straight.
The 2019 first-round pick now returns to WBS, where he’s had his best season in the professional ranks, with 27 points (13 G, 14 A) in 36 games. It’s a nice rebound after being away from the organization for most of last season on personal leave for mental health reasons. The AHL Pens have clinched a playoff spot, unlike their big brothers, so he’ll get a chance to play meaningful games past mid-April if Pittsburgh can’t leapfrog the rival Capitals for the second wild-card spot in the East. He’s nearing completion of his entry-level contract and needs a new deal this offseason as a pending RFA.
Zohorna comes up to provide head coach Mike Sullivan with a more experienced option to slide into a depth role as they enter must-win territory in their final four games. The Pens picked up Zohorna on a one-year, two-way deal last summer after he split the 2022-23 season between the Flames, Maple Leafs, and both of their AHL affiliates. It’s his second stint with the organization – Pittsburgh brought him to North America in 2020 by inking the undrafted free agent to an ELC but lost him on waivers to Calgary at the beginning of last season.
He failed to crack the Pittsburgh roster out of camp but found himself back in the NHL in late October, shuffled between leagues almost daily before earning a more permanent recall on Nov. 2. He notched seven points (four goals, three assists) in 31 games in bottom-six minutes before landing back on the waiver wire in mid-January. He’s been on assignment to WBS since. The 6’6″ power winger has been great in the minors, posting 25 points in 29 games with a +2 rating. The pending UFA will now cycle into the bottom six minutes to close out the season and will look to earn an extension.
Penguins Call Up Forward Samuel Poulin
The Pittsburgh Penguins have recalled forward Samuel Poulin from the AHL (Twitter link). This move reverses Poulin’s April 2nd assignment, bringing the winger back to Pittsburgh before he could return to the AHL lineup.
Poulin is continuing to find his footing this season, after missing all of November with a high-ankle sprain and most of February with a separate lower-body injury. He played in his first three NHL games of the season in late March, recording two penalty minutes, two shots on goal, and a -1. He’s been much more effective in the minors, boasting 13 goals and 27 points in 36 games. Poulin’s 2022-23 season came to a very early close, as he took a personal leave of absence from December to April, limiting his workload to just 15 AHL games and three NHL games.
Pittsburgh is plenty confident in Poulin, taking him in the first-round of the 2019 NHL Draft. But his string of absences has so far kept him from receiving consistent ice time. He’s had a healthy streak as of late and is scoring at the highest rate of his pro career, but if that can carry into the NHL level is yet to be seen. Poulin will likely battle with Jesse Puljujarvi for a spot on the team’s fourth-line. Puljujarvi has served in a very minimal role recently, averaging roughly seven minutes of ice time over the Penguins’ last four games. He’s recorded one assist in that stretch – but Pittsburgh will need much bigger of a spark, currently three points outside of the Eastern Conference’s second Wild Card.
Pittsburgh Penguins Reassign Joel Blomqvist, Samuel Poulin
April 3rd, 8:59 am: The Penguins have re-assigned goaltender Joel Blomqvist to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the AHL after he served as the backup last night against the Devils.
April 2nd: Before the team’s game tonight against the New Jersey Devils, the Pittsburgh Penguins have made a move between the crease, recalling goaltender Joel Blomqvist to the active roster. In a corresponding roster move, the team has returned forward Samuel Poulin to their AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
Given that Alex Nedeljkovic will retain the starting reins for a consecutive game, the Penguins needed to find a replacement for Tristan Jarry as he remains out with an illness. Blomqvist was previously recalled via an emergency loan in early November of this season while Jarry was out, but was unable to play any minutes.
In his first full season in North America, Blomqvist has been more than solid for the WBS Penguins this year. With 40 games played up to this point in the season, Blomqvist has produced a 22-10-6 record, coupled with a .919 save percentage and a 2.15 goals against average.
Rising up the ranks as the top goalie prospect in the Penguins’ farm system, Blomqvist could feature into Pittsburgh’s lineup more regularly next season. With two goaltenders within the system headed for unrestricted free agency this summer, the Penguins may look to fill in the holes on the roster internally.
On the opposite side of the transaction, Poulin has been sparingly used at the NHL level once again this season. Registering only 36 games for the WBS Penguins this year, Poulin has scored 13 goals and 27 points overall.
Snapshots: Jagr, Kirk, Poulin
Being 36 years old in the NHL for an average player generally means retirement is on the horizon. Don’t tell that to Jaromir Jagr, who confirmed today he’ll be playing his 36th straight season of pro hockey, suiting up with his hometown team, Rytiri Kladno, in the Czech Extraliga. Jagr, the team’s majority owner, doesn’t ride the bench at age 51, either. His 14 points in 26 games last season still placed him top ten on the team in scoring as Kladno narrowly managed to avoid relegation to the 1. liga for the second straight season. This season, he’ll be once again joined by team captain Tomas Plekanec, as the longtime Montreal Canadiens pivot is still active overseas at age 40. Longtime NHLer Michael Frolik is also suiting up for Kladno in 2023-24 after playing last season in the Extraliga with Bili Tygri Liberec. Jagr has played for Kladno ever since his NHL career ended in 2018 with the Calgary Flames.
Other notes from around hockey on this Saturday night:
- Groundbreaking British prospect Liam Kirk spoke to PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan recently after mutually terminating his entry-level contract with the Arizona Coyotes. Last season was a roller coaster ride for Kirk, who was healthy after a knee injury sidelined him for most of 2021-22. Loaned to ECHL Atlanta and then overseas to Jukurit in Finland, Kirk says he “didn’t really hear from the Coyotes” throughout the campaign and was even more confused after AHL Tucson was still active after his season in Finland ended without recalling him. Kirk, the first player born and developed in England to be drafted by an NHL team, has a one-year deal with HC Litvinov in Czechia next season, where he’s expected to play a top-six role. The 23-year-old remains in pursuit of another NHL opportunity down the line.
- Pittsburgh Penguins 2019 first-round pick Samuel Poulin is back on the ice with the team during rookie camp after taking a four-month leave of absence to deal with his mental health last season, telling NHL.com’s Mike G. Morreale he “feel[s] great” and is looking forward to competing for a roster spot. It’s been a tough transition to pro hockey for Poulin, who put up strong numbers in the QMJHL but had just four goals and no assists in 15 games with AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton last season. The 6-foot-2, 214-pound Laval product can play all three forward positions.