Sam Poulin Will Get a Fresh Start With the Canadiens – The Hockey Writers – Montreal Canadiens

Getting selected in the NHL Draft is hard. Being selected in the first round? Even more so. The first 32 spots are reserved only for prospects believed to be the most skilled in their class and much further along in their development than their peers.

However, just because a player is selected in the first round doesn’t guarantee they will be given a spot on an NHL roster early on in their career. Just ask Sam Poulin.

Since he was picked 21st overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2019 Draft, Poulin has mostly left his mark at the American Hockey League (AHL) level, where he’s racked up 164 points through 256 games as a member of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and Bakersfield Condors. He has also collected 10 points in 13 Calder Cup Playoff games. Still, it hasn’t been enough to earn him a permanent spot on an NHL roster.

Over five professional seasons, Poulin has appeared in the lineup for just 15 NHL games, all with the Pittsburgh Penguins. After starting his career with the team that drafted him, he was forced to take on a change of scenery when he was dealt to the Edmonton Oilers as part of the Tristan Jarry-Stuart Skinner deal back in December 2025. The Montreal Canadiens then signed Poulin to a one-year contract over the summer, providing him a chance for a fresh start with a franchise that’s made young talent into its bread and butter as of late.

Here’s what to know about Poulin and how he got to this point.

Impact in the AHL

As a late first-round pick, it was expected that Poulin would spend time with Pittsburgh’s AHL affiliate before he would make the jump to the highest level. What wasn’t as expected was how long he wound up staying there.

Poulin’s first professional campaign with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in 2021-22 was a good first step for the towering 6-foot-2 forward. He didn’t miss a single game throughout the regular season, racking up 37 points in 72 games. He also logged four points during the postseason, though the Pens only lasted six games before being knocked out. But the following season was a much different story.

On Dec. 7, 2022, the Penguins announced that Poulin would be stepping away from the organization for “personal reasons” and returning home to Quebec, where he would continue his on- and off-ice workouts. Not much was heard about Poulin until he posted a message on his Instagram three months later, which revealed he had taken time off to focus on himself and his mental health. Poulin played two more games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton before the season came to a close.

A message from Sam Poulin on Instagram (https://t.co/rosx8SxQti): pic.twitter.com/2mXWjPHomA

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 15, 2023

Following a solid showing in 2023-24, Poulin’s final full season with Pittsburgh’s AHL affiliate was easily his best. Appearing in 57 contests, his 43 points ranked fourth out of all WBS Penguins players. Poulin recorded 11 multi-point games, including a game in which he logged five points (three goals, two assists) at home against the Belleville Senators on March 8, 2025.

But instead of remaining a mainstay in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton before making the move up to the NHL, Poulin merely became a trade chip. Midway through his fifth season in the Penguins organization, he was dealt to the Oilers along with Jarry in exchange for Skinner, Brett Kulak, and a 2029 second-round pick. Poulin went on to finish the remainder of his contract with the Bakersfield Condors and was never called up to play in Edmonton.

Just like that, Poulin’s time with the Penguins was suddenly over, and any chance of him becoming an NHL regular with the franchise was now out of the question. On general manager Kyle Dubas’ part, it wasn’t personal. It was just the cost of doing business.

NHL Appearances

While Poulin didn’t impress Pittsburgh’s coaching staff enough to earn a consistent spot in the team’s lineup, he still enjoyed some memorable moments over his first 15 games in the NHL.

Like many of the league’s brightest stars, Poulin found his way on the scoresheet in his first career game. During the Penguins’ road matchup with the Calgary Flames on Oct. 25, 2022, he notched his first NHL point by logging the secondary assist on an Evgeni Malkin tally. The score turned out to be Pittsburgh’s lone strike in the contest. Unfortunately for Poulin, the bad still outweighed the good that evening as he finished the game with a minus-2 plus/minus rating and took a slashing penalty in what devolved into a 4-1 loss.

Evgeni Malkin scored the goal, but Jeff Carter and Sam Poulin got assists. That’s Poulin’s first NHL point!

Congratulations, Sam! pic.twitter.com/g3OEzvLSjK

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) October 26, 2022

Poulin played two more games in a Pittsburgh uniform that season before being sent back down to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for good. He was called up for another three-game stint in 2023-24 before getting his longest taste of NHL action in 2024-25, playing in a total of seven games. He came away with just one point by the end of that campaign.

The Penguins placed Poulin on waivers twice during his tenure with them, but he didn’t take it personally. Instead, he still treated each call-up — no matter how brief — as a privilege.

“It’s always an honor. It’s the Pittsburgh Penguins. There’s a lot of history down here. I wouldn’t want to play anywhere else,” Poulin said regarding his call-up to Pittsburgh on Nov. 18, 2025.

Poulin appeared in just two games during that call-up last season.

A Fresh Start

With the Canadiens’ AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket, Poulin will get a chance to develop under newly appointed head coach Daniel Jacob and his staff, which should prove beneficial for him. Jacob has plenty of experience developing players at the AHL level, as he’s served as an assistant coach for three of the league’s franchises (San Diego Gulls, Syracuse Crunch, and the Rocket).

In Jacob, Poulin will also have some connection to the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). From 2014 to 2018, Jacob was an assistant coach for the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada. Just before Jacob arrived there, Poulin wrapped up a three-year stint with the organization’s youth developmental team, the Blainville-Boisbriand Jr. Armada. Both also have experience with Team Canada’s U18 team in the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, as Jacob coached the team in 2017-18 and Poulin suited up for the squad in 2018-19. Now, the two will finally cross paths.

Montreal wouldn’t have signed Poulin in free agency if it believed he was a lost cause. Now, he will look to pay back that investment by finally breaking through to the NHL level for good in 2026-27.

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