Penguins top forward prospect Samuel Poulin had a huge week with three consecutive multi-point games for the Sherbrooke Phoenix in the QMJHL.
The Phoenix dominated the Acadie-Bathurst Titan on Friday with a 10-1 win at home. Poulin was named the No. 1 star for his four-goal, five-point performance. He led the Phoenix with nine shots on goal, six of which met the QMJHL's criteria for a "dangerous" shot.
Poulin scored the Phoenix's second and third goals of the game in the first period. His first goal was this ridiculous backhand shot as he was falling down while facing away from the net:
His second goal, a power play goal, came from the top of the right circle:
Poulin completed the hat trick when he picked up his own rebound and scored this wraparound goal, the Phoenix's sixth goal of the game:
His fourth goal came in the final minute of the second period, a shorthanded goal:
The Phoenix played two days later on Sunday, and took a 6-1 win over the Chicoutimi Saguenéens. Poulin was named the No. 2 star for his one-goal, three-point night. He scored the Phoenix's second goal of the game, a power play tally:
Again, Poulin recorded nine shots on goal, with six being considered dangerous shots.
For those two games, Poulin was named the QMJHL's Player of the Week. He wasn't done yet, though.
The Phoenix hosted the Drummondville Voltigeurs on Tuesday and won again, 6-4. Poulin was the No. 1 star of the game for his second hat trick in under a week, in addition to two assists.
Poulin scored the Phoenix's second goal of the game in the first period:
Midway through the second period, Poulin scored the Phoenix's fifth goal of the game:
He completed the hat trick with an empty net goal with 1:51 remaining in the third period, becoming just the ninth player in Phoenix franchise history to record multiple career hat tricks.
Poulin led the Phoenix with seven shots on goal, five of which were dangerous shots.
Poulin's week brings his season totals to 27 goals and 29 assists in 34 games, for an average of 1.65 points per game. He's two goals shy of last season's total of 29 games, in just over half the number of games.
Poulin is averaging 5.1 shots per game, a jump from last season's average of 3.78 shots per game. Not only is he shooting more, but more of those shots are going in. His shooting percentage is 15.6 percent, an increase of last season's average of 11.5 percent.
In an interview with LHEQ last week, Poulin spoke about what drives him to keep growing his game.
"Since I was very young, I dreamed of winning a Stanley Cup and playing in the National Hockey League," he said. "I still have this passion. That's what drives me to get better every day."
Here’s how the rest of the Penguins’ prospects in juniors, college, and Europe did this week:
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FORWARDS
Judd Caulfield
Position: Forward
Size: 6-4/207
Shoots: Right
Drafted: 2019, fifth round
Team: North Dakota (NCAA)
Season totals: 21 games, 3 goals, 7 assists
Caulfield picked up two assists in two games this week.
Liam Gorman
Position: Center
Size: 6-3/196
Shoots: Left
Drafted: 2018, sixth round
Team: Princeton (NCAA)
Season totals: 19 games, 3 assists
Gorman and Princeton did not play this week.
Filip Hallander
Position: Center/Wing
Size: 6-1/190
Shoots: Left
Drafted: 2018, second round
Team: Lulea HF (SHL)
Season totals: 11 games, 3 goal, 3 assists
Hallander was scoreless in two games this week.
Nathan Legare
Position: Right wing
Size: 6-0/205
Shoots: Right
Drafted: 2019, third round
Team: Baie-Comeau Drakkar (QMJHL)
Season totals: 44 games, 25 goals, 24 assists
Legare played in three games this week and scored two goals and an assist.
Linus Olund
Position: Center
Size: 5-11/183
Shoots: Left
Drafted: 2017, fifth round
Team: Brynas IF (SHL)
Season totals: 33 games, 3 goals, 6 assists
Olund scored two goals in two games this week.
Nikita Pavlychev
Position: Center
Size: 6-8/225
Shoots: Left
Drafted: 2015, seventh round
Team: Penn State (NCAA)
Season totals: 19 games, 4 goal, 6 assists
Pavlychev was scoreless in two games this week. The Centre Daily Times wrote this feature on Pavlychev's growth this season.
“First of all, I’m not exactly where I want to be, still a lot of room to grow and a lot of things to work on,” Pavlychev said. “I definitely think it has helped me on the ice, on my defensive side as well, as it has made it a lot easier for me to go to the net on the offensive side and winning battles, corners as well as face-offs.”
Samuel Poulin
Position: Wing
Size: 6-1/207
Shoots: Left
Drafted: 2019, first round
Team: Sherbrooke Phoenix (QMJHL)
Season totals: 34 games, 27 goals, 29 assists
Poulin scored eight goals and five assists in three games this week.
Valtteri Puustinen
Position: Wing
Size: 5-9/183
Shoots: Right
Drafted: 2019, seventh round
Team: HPK (Liiga)
Season totals: 38 games, 13 goals, 19 assists
Puustinen recorded one assist in three games this week.
DEFENSEMEN
Calen Addison
Size: 5-10/180
Shoots: Right
Drafted: 2018, second round
Team: Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL)
Season totals: 36 games, 8 goals, 32 assists
Addison recorded nine assists in three games this week -- two on Jan. 22, five on Jan. 24, and two on Jan. 25. He became the second defenseman in Lethbridge franchise history to reach 200 career points.
Santeri Airola
Size: 5-11/165
Shoots: Right
Drafted: 2019, seventh round
Team: SaiPa (Liiga), Kettera (Mestis)
Season totals: 2 games with SaiPa; 21 games, 7 assists with Kettera
Airola was scoreless in two games with Kettera.
Ryan Jones
Size: 6-2/186
Shoots: Left
Drafted: 2016, fourth round
Team: Nebraska-Omaha (NCAA)
Season totals: 26 games, 2 goals, 7 assists
Jones recorded one assist in two games this week.
Antti Palojarvi
Size: 6-1/172
Shoots: Left
Drafted: 2017, sixth round
Team: Lukko (Liiga), Lukko U20 (Jr. A SM-liiga), Hokki (Mestis)
Season totals: 5 games with Lukko; 14 games, 3 assists with Lukko U20; 15 games with Hokki
Palojarvi was scoreless in three games with Hokki.
Clayton Phillips
Size: 5-11/183
Shoots: Left
Drafted: 2017, third round
Team: Penn State (NCAA)
Season totals: 25 games, 2 goal, 7 assists
Phillips was scoreless in one game this week, and missed Penn State's second game of the week with an undisclosed injury.
William Reilly
Size: 6-2/196
Drafted: 2017, seventh round
Team: Rensselaer Polytech (NCAA)
Season totals: 24 games, 7 goal, 9 assists
Reilly recorded one assist in one game this week, the annual Mayor's Cup between RPI and Union. Reilly's assist was the primary assist on RPI's power play goal in a 2-1 shootout win:
Dubinsky's game-tying goal! pic.twitter.com/mdmKPd3GXs
— RPI Men's Hockey (@RPI_Hockey) January 26, 2020
That's Reilly front and center with his hand on the trophy:
