The Pittsburgh Penguins chose Sam Poulin in the first round (21st overall) in the 2019 NHL Draft and he finally made his big league debut.
In the second half of a back-to-back situation that saw a new addition to the Penguins’ injured list, the door opened for Poulin.
It wasn’t a great start for the rookie as a giveaway made by Poulin led directly to an early Calgary Flames goal, but head coach Mike Sullivan maintained his confidence.
Despite the poor play, Sullivan kept playing Poulin and the prospect only got better as the game went on.
Getting some ice time on the power play, Poulin broke through and recorded his first career point in the NHL; A secondary assist on a power play goal from Evgeni Malkin.
The Malkin goal would turn out to be the Penguins only tally of the game, but Poulin came close to scoring the first of his career.
Poulin took a pass and created his own space breaking alone on Flames goalie Jacob Markstrom.
The 2022 Vezina Candidate net minder got the better of Poulin, but it was another example of the amount of confidence he is playing with.
Poulin centered the third line between Brock McGinn and Kasperi Kapanen and looked strong doing it.
He may have been a -2 on the game, but Poulin played 12:17 of total ice and was a clean 50% in the face off dot.
It wasn’t a perfect debut for Poulin, but the Penguins as a team didn’t have a great showing.
Poulin deserves another opportunity to remain in the NHL lineup and he should get it when the Penguins continue their western Canada road trip in Vancouver.
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