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 left winger 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. Pouliot was originally drafted by the Wild fourth overall in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

Amateur

Pouliot grew up in St. Isidore, Ontario, playing for his hometown St. Isidore Eagles, where he was coached by his father Sylvain. Pouliot was later promoted to the AA Eastern Ontario Cobras of the ODMHA where he played up until the Bantam age level. He also saw time in Jr.B. with Les Castors de Clarence Creek.

Pouliot was later drafted in the 11th round, 207th overall, by the Ontario Hockey League (OHL)'s Sudbury Wolves in the 2002 OHL Priority Selection after playing for the Cobras. The following season, he was reassigned to the Hawkesbury Hawks Jr.A. club of the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL), a team his father had previously played for.

In his first year, Pouliot won the Emms Family Award as the OHL's top rookie for 2004–05. On July 30, 2005, after his first full season of major junior hockey, he was drafted fourth overall by the Minnesota Wild at the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. Later that year, he was also named to the Canadian junior team that ultimately won the gold medal at the 2006 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. He finished the 2005–06 season with 65 points in 51 games, including 35 goals.

Professional

Pouliot signed a tryout contract with Minnesota's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Houston Aeros, on April 28, 2006, playing there for two games in the team's Semifinal Calder Cup playoff series against the Milwaukee Admirals. He was then signed professionally to the Wild on May 1. He made his NHL debut later in the year, on November 22, against the Montreal Canadiens, after which he would return to the Aeros until March 15, 2008.^[1]

Pouliot scored his first two career NHL goals for Minnesota against Calgary Flames on March 22, 2008, though the Wild still lost the game, 5–4.^[2]

Pouliot later was placed on the 2008–09 roster at the beginning season. After scoring just 11 points in 37 games, Pouliot was later sent down to the AHL's Aeros. On November 23, he was traded to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Guillaume Latendresse.^[3]

On July 1, 2011, Pouliot signed as a free agent with the Boston Bruins on a one-year, $1.1 million contract.^[4] On June 23, 2012, as a pending unrestricted free agent, Pouliot's rights were traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for forward Michel Ouellet and a fifth- round draft pick (131st overall) used later that day at the 2012 NHL Entry Draft to select Seth Griffith.

On July 5, 2013, again as a free agent, 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

Pouliot's 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 the Hawks to the CJHL championship and 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
Representing Canada
Ice hockey
World Junior Championships
	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

1. Macdonald, James. "WILD GAMEDAY - March 15, 2008". NHL.com. NHL. Retrieved 2 October 2013.
2. "NHL Event Summary". NHL.com. 2008-03-22. Retrieved 2008-10-31.
3. "Canadiens trade Latendresse for Pouliot". The Sports Network. 2008-11-23. Retrieved 2008-11-23.
4. "Bruins sign free agent Benoit Pouliot". Boston.com. 2011-07-01. Retrieved 2011-07-01.
5. "Oilers sign Pouliot, Fayne". ESPN. 2014-07-01. Retrieved 2014-07-01.
6. "The son also rises". Slam Sports. 2005-05-25. Retrieved 2008-10-31.

External links

• Benoît Pouliot's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database