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Derrick Pouliot’s first half of the 2016-17 season was a struggle.
He was sidelined twice with injuries and was often a healthy scratch while in Pittsburgh. He was held without a point during his first seven games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
Despite the struggles, Pouliot looks back and shrugs it off.
“Sometimes things don’t work out as planned,” he said. “If you let one little bump in the road shut you down, you’re not going to make it very far.”
Pouliot avoided that bump and, now in the final year of his three-year entry level contract, he has plans to go pretty far.
The 23-year-old was taken in the first round, eighth overall, by Pittsburgh in 2012. During his first three seasons he established himself as a dominant point producer and blueliner at the AHL, but has had trouble sticking in Pittsburgh despite playing a total of 63 games.
As a rookie, Pouliot appeared in 34 games with Pittsburgh, totalling seven points and registering a minus-11. Last season, he had seven assists in 22 games with the big club and improved to a plus-4.
Pouliot had high hopes heading into this season and he made Pittsburgh’s roster out of training camp, only to suffer an injury early on. He endured the frustration of healthy scratches and suffered another injury during his first game of the season on Oct. 20.
When Pouliot was finally healthy, success was slow to arrive. In seven games with Pittsburgh and nine with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Pouliot failed to register a point as 2016 came to an end.
The new year couldn’t arrive fast enough.
“I might have been getting a little frustrated, but I knew it was going to come,” he said. “It’s just about getting back into the swing of things and sticking with it.”
Things began to swing Pouliot’s way quickly when he registered two assists with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton during the first game of 2017.
After a total of 16 games without a point in the NHL and AHL, Pouliot rediscovered his scoring touch. He registered a goal and six points in the first four games of 2017, and entering the weekend had had three goals and 11 points on the season.
More impressive was the fact that Pouliot began to show his dominant puck-handling skills on a consistent basis, often backing teams up as he skated into the offensive zone.
“I’m not trying to create a play that isn’t there, but with how I can skate and my vision with the puck, I think I can back teams off a little bit,” Pouliot said.
Head coach Clark Donatelli said the key for Pouliot to salvage his season was to play at a consistent level, and he’s done that of late.
“He just has to put it all together and I think he’s well on his way,” Donatelli said. “He’s got his confidence.”
While the points are coming with regularity now, Pouliot hasn’t forgotten about the defensive side of things. After beginning the season as a minus-6 between Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Pittsburgh combined, Pouliot is a plus-6 in 2017.
The Estevan, Saskatchewan native said offensive production is great, but he knows the defense has to come first.
“You have to defend well and work upwards from there,” he said. “If you’re having an off night defensively, that can affect everything in your game.”
Now that things have come together, there’s a lot at stake for Pouliot as he tries to get back to the NHL in the final year of his entry level deal with Pittsburgh.
At the same time, he’s also playing for another contract.
Pouliot said he’ll worry about the contract situation after the season and for now is just focusing on capitalizing on the confidence that he has on the ice.
“When you have that you can do more with the puck and the game just comes a little bit easier,” he said.
