The Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins will be without forward Sam Poulin for an indefinite period of time.
Poulin, 21, will be taking a leave of absence from the team to return home to Quebec where he will continue working out on and off the ice, it was announced on Wednesday by Ron Hextall.
"The Penguins support Sam’s decision to take time away from hockey to focus on himself," Hextall said. "As with all of our players, our priority is them as individuals first. We look forward to having him back with the team when he is ready."
The Penguins will not be providing further updates on his status at this time and ask that his privacy is respected.
Poulin had a very strong training camp with the Penguins and was one of the final players trimmed from the roster before the season began. Mike Sullivan and the coaching staff alike noted that Poulin's game is leaps and bounds ahead of where it was a year ago.
After starting the season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Poulin was called up to the NHL and made his debut on Oct. 25 against the Flames in Calgary, recording an assist for his first NHL point. He played two more games, going without a point and recording zero shots on goal in both.
He was re-assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Nov. 11 and has remained in the AHL since then. On the season, Poulin has four goals and no assists in 13 AHL games.
