Benoît Pouliot
| Benoît Pouliot | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | September 29, 1986 Alfred, ON, CAN |
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) |
| Weight | 193 lb (88 kg; 13 st 11 lb) |
| Position | Left Wing |
| Shoots | Left |
| NHL team Former teams |
Edmonton Oilers Minnesota Wild Montreal Canadiens Boston Bruins Tampa Bay Lightning New York Rangers |
| NHL Draft | 4th overall, 2005 Minnesota Wild |
| Playing career | 2006–present |
Benoît Robert Pouliot (born September 29, 1986) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who is currently playing for the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has previously played in the NHL with the Minnesota Wild, Montreal Canadiens, Boston Bruins, Tampa Bay Lightning, and the New York Rangers.
Playing career
Pouliot grew up in St. Isidore, Ontario. He played for his hometown team, the St. Isidore Eagles, where he was coached by his father, Sylvain. He was later promoted to the AA Eastern Ontario Cobras of the ODMHA where he played up until Bantam. He also saw time in Jr.B. with Les Castors de Clarence Creek.
He was drafted in the 11th round (207th overall) by the Sudbury Wolves in the 2002 OHL Priority Selection after playing for the Eastern Ontario Cobras. The following season he was reassigned to the Hawkesbury Hawks Jr.A. club of the CJHL - a team his father had played for.
He won the Emms Family Award as the OHL's top of the rookie for the 2004–05 season. On July 30, 2005, he was drafted fourth overall by the Minnesota Wild. He was a member of the Canadian team that won the 2006 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. He finished the 2005–06 season with 65 points in 51 games including 35 goals.
He was signed to a tryout contract with Minnesota's AHL affiliate, the Houston Aeros, on April 28 and he played there for two games of their semi-final Calder Cup playoff series against the Milwaukee Admirals, the farm team of the Nashville Predators. Pouliot was then signed to the Wild on May 1, 2006. He made his NHL debut on November 22, 2006 against the Montreal Canadiens, after which he would return to the Aeros until March 15, 2008.[1]
Pouliot scored his first two NHL goals for Minnesota against Calgary Flames on March 22, 2008, but the Wild still lost the match 5–4.[2]
Pouliot later was placed on the 2008–09 roster at the beginning season. After only recording 11 points in 37 games, Pouliot was sent down the Minnesota Wild's minor league affiliate, the Houston Aeros. On November 23, he was traded to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Guillaume Latendresse.[3]
On July 1, 2011, Pouliot signed with the Boston Bruins to a one-year, $1.1 million contract.[4]
On June 23, 2012, Pouliot's rights were traded by the Bruins to the Tampa Bay Lightning for forward Michel Ouellet and a 5th round draft pick (131st overall) used later that day to select Seth Griffith.
On July 5, 2013, Pouliot signed a one-year, $1.3 million contract with the New York Rangers.
After a successful season with the Rangers and looking for term after playing on three successive one-year deals, Pouliot agreed to a five-year $20 million contract with the Edmonton Oilers on July 1, 2014.[5]
Personal
His brothers are also hockey players; David is a defenceman with the St. Isidore Junior C Eagles, and Hugo played for the Hawkesbury Hawks. In 2005, Hugo led them to the CJHL championship, the Fred Page Cup. Now Hugo plays for the Alexandria Jr. B Glens, and the Glens went on to win the EOJBHL championship.
The day after Pouliot scored his first-ever OHL goal, his father died from leukemia.[6]
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2002–03 | Hawkesbury Hawks | CJHL | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Clarence Creek Beavers | EOJHL | 38 | 13 | 17 | 30 | 86 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 | ||
| 2003–04 | Sudbury Wolves | OHL | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2004–05 | Sudbury Wolves | OHL | 67 | 29 | 38 | 67 | 102 | 12 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 20 | ||
| 2005–06 | Sudbury Wolves | OHL | 55 | 35 | 30 | 65 | 120 | 8 | 10 | 2 | 12 | 16 | ||
| 2005–06 | Houston Aeros | AHL | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2006–07 | Houston Aeros | AHL | 67 | 19 | 17 | 36 | 109 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Minnesota Wild | NHL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Houston Aeros | AHL | 46 | 10 | 14 | 24 | 67 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2007–08 | Minnesota Wild | NHL | 11 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2008–09 | Minnesota Wild | NHL | 37 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Houston Aeros | AHL | 30 | 9 | 15 | 24 | 20 | 20 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 28 | ||
| 2009–10 | Minnesota Wild | NHL | 14 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 39 | 15 | 9 | 24 | 31 | 18 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 2009–10 | Hamilton Bulldogs | AHL | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 79 | 13 | 17 | 30 | 87 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | ||
| 2011–12 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 74 | 16 | 16 | 32 | 38 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 2012–13 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 34 | 8 | 12 | 20 | 15 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | New York Rangers | NHL | 80 | 15 | 21 | 36 | 56 | 25 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 26 | ||
| 2014–15 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 58 | 19 | 15 | 34 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 429 | 95 | 99 | 194 | 285 | 54 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 45 | ||||
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
Competitor for  Canada
| ||
| Ice hockey | ||
| World Junior Championships | ||
| Gold | 2006 Vancouver | |
International
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Canada | WJC |  |
6 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 14 | |
| Junior totals | 6 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 14 | ||||
Awards and honours
| Award | Year |
|---|---|
| OHL | |
| First All-Rookie Team | 2005 |
| Second All-Star Team | 2005 |
| Emms Family Award | 2005 |
| CHL Rookie of the Year | 2005 |
References
- ↑ Macdonald, James. "WILD GAMEDAY - March 15, 2008". NHL.com. NHL. Retrieved 2 October 2013.
- ↑ "NHL Event Summary". NHL.com. 2008-03-22. Retrieved 2008-10-31.
- ↑ "Canadiens trade Latendresse for Pouliot". The Sports Network. 2008-11-23. Retrieved 2008-11-23.
- ↑ "Bruins sign free agent Benoit Pouliot". Boston.com. 2011-07-01. Retrieved 2011-07-01.
- ↑ "Oilers sign Pouliot, Fayne". ESPN. 2014-07-01. Retrieved 2014-07-01.
- ↑ "The son also rises". Slam Sports. 2005-05-25. Retrieved 2008-10-31.
External links
| Preceded by Bryan Little |
OHL Rookie of the Year 2004–05 |
Succeeded by John Tavares |
| Preceded by Sidney Crosby |
CHL Rookie of the Year 2004–05 |
Succeeded by John Tavares |
| Preceded by A. J. Thelen |
Minnesota Wild first round draft pick 2005 |
Succeeded by James Sheppard |