A GOALIE PROSPECT RISES IN QUEBEC
Late-round draft pick Kevin Poulin is the real thing
Chris Botta on Twitter
One year before the Islanders used early-round picks to draft Mikko Koskinen and Anders Nilsson, they selected a goalie out of the Quebec League named Kevin Poulin in the fifth round in 2008.
Poulin, who turned 20 last Monday, has developed over the last year into a strong prospect. You won’t find his name in The Hockey News’ Future Watch issue – not even in the Islanders’ top ten – but that’s what happens with under-the-radar youngsters when no one is really paying attention. A poll I conducted of scouts and other NHL team hockey ops personnel in the last week of the regular season revealed that hardly anyone knew Poulin was property of the New York Islanders. However, they did know he was good.
“There are so many raw-talented goalies in the Quebec League that, to be frank, many of them tend to be a dime-a-dozen,” emailed an Eastern Conference QMJHL scout that has watched Poulin play for four seasons in Victoriaville. “What it looks like now is that Poulin is not an average prospect. From what he’s shown this season, I’d have to say he has a legitimate chance to play in the NHL if the Islanders bring him along the right way.”
Poulin may seem like a late-bloomer, but the goalie hasn’t come out of nowhere. Scouts have known his name for years. The season before the Islanders drafted him, many viewed him as a first round talent and the best netminding prospect in the Quebec League. Then he posted a 3.85 GAA and .885 save percentage in the 2007-08 season and the numbers did not justify an early-round selection. Poulin also sustained a string of injuries, including a dislocated kneecap suffered during one of those pointless exhibitions of pre-game soccer.
However, Islanders staffers – including long-time Quebec League scout Mario Saraceno – were confident the kid was worthy of the mild risk of a fifth round pick. The move has paid off.
Reality may be settling in, in the form of a juggernaut St. John’s team in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Final, but Poulin carried out-manned Victoriaville in the regular season and the playoffs. He had a 2.63 GAA in the regular season – an incredible number in the high-scoring QMJHL. Before running into the buzzsaw that is St. John’s, Poulin took Les Tigres to the Final with playoff series victories over Shawinigan and Quebec. Over ten games in the first two rounds, Poulin was 8-2 with a 1.86 GAA and .943 save percentage. He was recently named Goaltender of the Week in the Canadian Hockey League.
What has been the difference?
“I think the biggest change is that, over the last two years since the Islanders drafted me, I’ve learned to take better care of myself,” Poulin told Point Blank during the first round of the playoffs. “Through the prospect camps in the summer and dealing with (goalie consultant) Sudsie Maharaj, I’ve learned a lot about conditioning, nutrition and getting ready to be a professional.”
Later on, Poulin added with a laugh, “I’m in so much better shape now than I was two years ago, it’s ridiculous.” The 6-2 Poulin used to play at 210-15 pounds. Now he’s a consistent 200. “I’m quicker, more flexible now,” he said.
Poulin was so improved in every aspect of his butterfly-style game that the general manager and head coach of the Quebec Ramparts was moved to declare Poulin as the best goaltender in Canadian junior hockey. That would be Patrick Roy.
“I heard about that,” said Poulin. “You have to be pretty proud about a comment like that coming from one of the best goalies in the history of the game.”
It’s impossible to predict how Poulin’s new-found success at the junior level will translate to the pro game. His significant development in the Islanders’ ranks, however, does make him a must-sign for the Islanders. Poulin is every bit the prospect as Koskinen and Nilsson, selected a year later and a lot earlier in the draft.
“Out of my control,” said Poulin, whose team trails Saint John 2-0 in their best-of-seven series with Game 3 tomorrow. “That’s another thing I’ve learned – to control only what I can control. I do hope I get a chance with the Islanders. I remember first meeting Sudsie, Ryan Jankowski and that really big guy (Eric Cairns) at the draft combine. They showed a lot of confidence in my ability when, I guess, a lot of teams stopped for a while. The Islanders played a big part in me getting better these last two years, so I hope everything works out and I get a chance with them.”
By the deadline of June 1, it will.
Asked what he knows about Poulin, Islanders coach Scott Gordon – a former goalie – said he was impressed by the youngster’s play at prospect camp on Long Island and the main camp in Saskatoon. “The ability is definitely there.”
And then Gordon relayed a story.
On the second-to-last night of the QMJHL regular season, Poulin tied the Victoriaville franchise record for shutouts in a season. “Kevin talked to Sudsie after the game and said something like, ‘It’s too bad the season is almost over. I would have liked to get the record.’ Sudsie said to the kid, ‘What do you mean? You do have one game left.’”
On the final day of the season, Poulin made the record his own.
Comments on Kevin Poulin.
52 Responses to A GOALIE PROSPECT RISES IN QUEBEC
Late-round draft pick Kevin Poulin is the real thing
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RAMen says:
Keep the good news coming CB. Hopefully this draft we can add another layer of solid prospects.
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bcarey says:
True story, mrlbem (5). Boston and Detroit proved that this year. Anaheim proved it a couple years ago. Goalies come and go. Still, this kid is a few years away from being a contender for the gig. But you have to like what you see.
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stevek1510 says:
sounds like a another solid prospect…could it be the islanders are turning into a real live professional organization?
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Eric says:
Sounds like he is going to a solid goalie. I have a good feeling about this kid. I have a feeling he is going to be the islanders #1 goalie for a while starting in 2-3 years and is the one that helps get them back to the stanley cup finals.
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Lafontaine16 says:
another player drafted in the 5th round 138th in 1999 (6,2″, 175) was Ryan Miller. I know right now its a bit of a stretch but you never know sometimes. Maybe Poulin is a diamond in the rough. Good luck Kevin, I hope you become a star with the Islander, b/c you cannot deny those numbers in the high scoring quebec league.
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vukotaismyhero12 says:
let him start in the Bridge…get him games see what he can do
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MorDraftPicks says:
And we picked TWO goalies early last year? UGH!!!!
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jimfromstjames says:
did i read that right, he had a KNEE injury?
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Nobody says:
Bailey, Petrov, hamonic, poulin, Donovan, Martin, (and even ness and trivino)…08 draft! Wow!!
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billy says:
koskinen and poulin are coming along right at the time we may need them.
Again, snow and jankowski show that their plan is real and its working.10- that draft does look ridiculous now, we’ll see most if not all in an isles jersey at some point
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Brother Rat says:
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Poulin still has a ways to go and develop, as does Koskinen, and the development arc can still take a few more years. But damn does it feel good to at least have a prospect seemingly from left field. How many times in the last decade have we had a homegrown goalie come up and surprise at the NHL level? Seems like teams are routinely doing that, I can only think of Dubie and DP, and one’s now a marginal AHL+ goalie and the other’s in a permanent delicate condition.
Koskinen held back the Bears last night and looked great. Family at the game (albeit Hershey fans) said he stood on his head.
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(Sim)ple says:
That 5th round in 2008 could really be a steal for us. SnowJanks did some great work with deciding on Poulin and Martin. Now let’s just not pull a Mad Mike and trade them before they reach their potential.
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Joe in Massapequa says:
If this kid pans out I want to see a stand at the coliseum titled Poulin’s Poutain! This kid seems like his stock is rising fast. I can’t wait to see him in person or at least watch some video of him this coming preseason.
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Mike in Bohemia says:
Will he be around at the camps this off season? I’d like to see him play.
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UIF says:
I was hoping for good news like this on Poulin. Even to my untrained eyes, it looked like he had all the tools this past pre-season. If they sign him, anyone know what the deal will be? Will we be seeing Poulin and Koskinen as the B-Port goalie tandem or does Poulin stay in juniors? What about Lawson? Is he still signed? Does he have what it takes to be the insurance plan for Rollie and DP next season?
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Good News! I would ride Rollie this year and incorporate poulin into the mix by next year. He will learn from a solid.veteran goalie. Good luck Kevin, we will be waiting for you!
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Metalcoconut says:
I wonder if this kid has a meanstreak. We could really use another goalie with some attitude. Perhaps he could make a few people think twice before sitting in the crease.
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Mike L says:
Koskinen vs. Poulin would be interesting. I think Koskinen gets the start at B-port next year with all he did this year. I would think Poulin would get starting time in Utah next year, like Koskinen. It’s better to put him there than waste his time sitting on the bench.
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Gary says:
so is this article saying he MUST be signed by june 1 or he goes back in draft/becomes free agent???(was hoping he is islanders property and deadline wasnt here already)
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thepolishprince says:
Another encouraging read Chris. Thanks. The fact that I need good news about the Islanders this early in the Mets season is a shame lol. I hope Kevin continues to improve. Let’s sign him and see what he can do in BPort next season.
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Avolp55turgeonfichaud says:
Another great piece CB. It is really unusual hearing good news about the prospect pool. Hopefully its a sign of more good things to come. Lets go Islanders!
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Chris R says:
After his team wins the championship, Garth should lock him up with an entry deal. Also since were packed with goalie prospects, Garth should only draft wingers and dmen in june. CB, any news if Ness or De Haan will be signed soon?
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Pete says:
As much as the Isles needed to shore up goaltending with an aging Roloson/Biron tandem and an forever-uncertain DiPietro, there was ZERO reason for Snow to use his top 2nd and top 3rd round picks on goaltenders in last year’s incredibly DEEP draft.
By reaching for Mikko Koskinen, they passed on Ryan O’Reilly and Landon Ferraro, and while Koskinen scouts as a potential NHL goaltender 3 or 4 years down the line, I just feel spending the 31st overall on him was quite excessive. The Anders Nilsson selection made it seem even worse.
Those two guys are 5 or 6 years down the road, and who knows when a kid like Poulin will come around and make them irrelevant anyways. I’m still a little peeved at Snow drafting those two, when there were more NHL-ready talent available for them to draft at that spot.
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Gary9-19-22 says:
not sure if this kid will amount to a thing, and neither does anyone on this board. However, this kid has one intangible that not one person in our organ-I-zation has, except Rollie. He has overcome the lower talent around him and carried his team on his back to the finals.
You can’t teach that to anyone….
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Sven Butenschon says:
CB: “What has been the difference?”
> Maybe it’s the poutine!
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Vealchop says:
Hopefully no more goalies will be drafted in the near future.
It bothers me more now that the Isles drafted Koskinen so early in the 2nd rd last year. NYI could of had O’Reilly, Ferrao or Morin while still having a solid goalie prospect in the org.
Oh yea dont forget about the Anchor, a 15 yr goalie contract.
Trade to get Hall!
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Vas says:
CB, what do you do with theses 2 goalies if they are in bridgeport? Do you split the time or have Koskinen as your backup next year and Poulin be the guy in BP?
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James says:
Another solid goaltending prospect. Assuming he’s signed, between him, Koskinen, and Lawson, you’ve got a good group of goaltending prospects to play in Bridgeport and Utah next season…
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Strummer's Army says:
I remember Poulin was rated as high as #4 overall going into his draft year. I also remember how confident he was when interviewed after the Isles picked him and he said he’d be happy to come in and compete with franchise goalie Rick Dipietro. Gotta like the confidence.
I’m interested to see how the Isles handle the goalies next year. They could not sign a vet back up and platoon Koskonen and Poulin between Isles and Bridge, ensuring they each get plenty of starts while playing Roli. If DiPietro comes back then they can both play in Bridge/Utah.
Hope you all noticed Bridge got their first playoff win last night when they inserted Mikko the Man into the nets. Only gave up 1 goal!
Now if we could just fix the toughness, size, LW, & D issues the organization would be magnificent again.
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Johnnyjet says:
Thanks for this article Cb. We will have to bring him along slowly. I have seen him play and reminds me of Luongo with his size and style. If anyone is interested in watching him play you can get a live stream on the qmjhl site for free.
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Drafting Koskinen was a good move by Snow. People complain about drafting him in the second round because of Poulin, but Poulin hadn’t developed like he did this year. Nobody mentioned Poulin’s name last year. Always better to have insurance. You have to draft the best player available regardless of position. Apparently, Snow and Jankowski felt Koskinen was the best player available. You don’t draft for need. You trade for need. What a bad situation to be in. Having two really good goalie prospects (sarcastic). This is a great thing. I’m 95 % sure Snow and Jankowski do not draft a goalie unless Campbell falls to them with their late 2nd round pick. Not going to happen. You can expect nothing but forwards and defenseman in this years draft. Great job Garth and Ryan. Keep it up. There is a reason Sports Illustrated rated you the best hockey GM. Now go out and get Hamhuis this summer!!!!!!!
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If scouts thought Koskinen was the best player available at 31, then I won’t disagree as much with his selection.
My gripe is that the Islanders have made the Entry Draft the most important avenue in which they build their current NHL “on-ice” team. If that’s the case, they need to draft the most talented and NHL-ready players available.
A team like the Red Wings and Sharks can take fliers on goaltenders like Koskinen and afford the 5 to 6 years necessary to make him blossom. The Isles don’t have that kind of time.
If Snow wants to field primarily a young and homegrown squad (which is a legit strategy), then they need to draft those who are ready to play in the near future. No one here can argue that Koskinen helps our team out from 2009 to 2013 more than an O’Reilly or Morin would.
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Ethan K says:
This guy sounds like he could be the real deal. I’ve been waiting for this article. Why isn’t he getting more publicity at this point, and where will he play next year? With Koskinen and others in the Bridge, I wonder where Poulin ends up. It’s nice to have good depth at such an important position. Sign him and put him on the right path. Dipietro’s return to me seems to be less and less important over time. Henrik Lundqvist was an under-the-radar goalie, and a seventh round pick. You never know!
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Spartiarti RVC says:
I really hope he is a great Goalie. THat is great news. Nothing wrong with having great goalie prospect.
Him Challenging Koskiken and Lawson next year in Bridgeport would be very much welcomed.Bring on Oct 1st already.
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Zim says:
Now we need Dusan Salficky up with the big club next year and we will be fine.
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Steve says:
For a team whose 1-2 last year was JoeyMac and Danis, I think we’ll all agree having a glut of goalie prospects is an extremely good problem going forward…
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Sounds like a solid prospect. Let’s just hope Garth doesn’t get goalie-drunk again at this draft.
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#33 how many second round and later picks play before 3-4 years? Check it out… Not many. You don’t pick NHL ready at rd 2 and beyond, you pick whomever you have highest on your board. Period! This isn’t the NFL draft….17/18 year olds
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Jim Clark says: “Poulin also suffered a string of injuries” Yup, he’s an Islanders goalie, alright.
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JPinVA says:
Could this be the year that the GLASS CEILING FOR ISLANDER GOALTENDING PROSPECTS, aka Rick DiPietro, finally shatters?
It looks like Bridgeport has some excellent goaltending to look forward to next year. -
a REAL hockey fan says:
.. Sounds good to my ears, just keep adding depth to the organizations depth chart
.. I like the steady course that Garth is on, keep the ship steady and on the right course. ====== After the Milbury years and having ‘no patience and HOPING for a 8th seed”, im happier with the way Garth is doing things, slow and steady!
.. Now please DONT SIGN HIM TO A 15 YEAR DEAL!!
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I’m definitely not trying to be negative. I approve of almost 80% of the moves Snow has made in his tenure, and his signings of Streit, Roloson and Molson have gotten maximum value out of minimum dollars.
The JT over Duchene/Hedman selection deserves praise, as does his gutty trade ups and downs for Bailey and de Haan. The jury is still out on whether they were the absolute best players that could’ve been taken at those spots, but at least the logic behind each selection was sound.
I’m just saying, as a fan, I had a hard time digesting the Koskinen/Nilsson selections and still do.
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The logic seems simple. You have an often (seriously) injured goalie on your roster, at that time the UFA’s are older and have questions, you aren’t comfortable that your prospect goalie depth is where you need it to be, and those players are next on your draft board…so you pick em….plain and simple
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Can’t imagine what the problem is with people still annoyed with the drafting of Koskinen and Nilsson last year.
1) DP is DP, and is always hurt.
2) Came off a season with Joey MacDonald and Yann Danis as starting goalies.
3) Kevin Poulin was not a major prospect.
4) The team did not sign Dwayne Roloson, Martin Biron, or Scott Munroe by then.
5) Nathan Lawson and Peter Mannino were FAs.
6) Ridderwall…..????
7) Now we don’t have to draft a goalie this year. -
Steve says:
Hopefully Kevin Poulin could be a solid goaltender in the Islanders future.
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Isles Fanatic says:
CB,
Thank for this, being in major Islanders withdrawl at this time of year, it is always fun to come here to read and learn more about the team’s goings-on….I like the recent reads….keep them coming…
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cjzimm says:
Sound logic #45. To look at it positively, we have the assets to make trades, if desired, in the future.
I would see about promoting one of the Bport goalies to back up Roli this season, let Koski be the #1 in Bport, and if possible keep KP in juniors unless his eligibility is up.
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Jethro from Finland says:
All the best to Poulin. Hopefully we’ll see him in the NHL one day.
Still soccer before the games is not pointless. Players get hurt in the gym and during every possible practice and just because someone gets hurt doesn’t make it pointless. Pro and semi-pro athletes train hard and sometimes get hurt during training, but it´s far from pointless.
Anyone who´s ever played a sport knows the risk of training and warm up, but they also know it’s worth it.
Maybe soccer and the world champs seem pointless for anyone from the U.S. but for Tavares to play with Stamkos or to practice eye-body-coordination by reacting to a ball in the air, is just damn useful for a young kid. Maybe in the 70′s jogging and gym were the key, but not anymore.
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Vrinqueens says:
This kid sounds like the real deal, All those picks are starting to pay off.
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SneakyPete77 says:
Great, Poulin can make up for the #1 overall bust from 2000! This team has a lot of very good talent and I don’t think they get enough credit for it. Especially with Petrov. This kid should have been drated in the top 15 or 20 and we got him at 73. The only reason was his KHL contract. This team is going to have so much talent they won’t know what to do with it all and this will happen sooner than later!
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admin says:
Thread closed.
Sign him up and get him a good position in pro hockey next year….and continue to watch him grow…….