Ryan Wilson: Time For Derrick Pouliot To Sink Or Swim Time For Derrick Pouliot To Sink Or Swim

JR is padding his AHL numbers do put him in a trade package.

See, I'm OK with Warsofsky getting the minutes. He has done more than enough to stay there also. I would obviously like to see DP in the NHL with regular minutes, but with Daley and Warsofsky playing well and moving the puck it makes it less of a pain to watch.

Jagr doesn't need teeth. Jagr needs some creamy Jagr Peanut Butter.

Your coaching staff in the AHL who watch him every single day say he's not ready. But you still want to bring him up?

Obviously you want to see your blue chip prospect as soon as possible, but it would be best to defer to the professional coaches and scouts on whether he's ready or not.

I have little confidence in this organization's ability to assess players. They don't draft/develop well and have had some major blunders like letting Muzzin go in 2011 and trading Despres last year.
I've never understood why Pouliot couldn't at least get a 10 game tryout. Why does it matter if they send him back down?

Remember a few years ago when Shero was about to trade Polliot to Nucks for Kessler? Think he should have done it?

Your coaching staff in the AHL who watch him every single day say he's not ready. But you still want to bring him up?

Obviously you want to see your blue chip prospect as soon as possible, but it would be best to defer to the professional coaches and scouts on whether he's ready or not.
- rangerdanger94

Pouliot playing like he did last season is better than Cole, Warsofsky, and Scuderi (when he was here). Also this organization has a poor track record on assessing players so fans should not trust their opinions at all.

Remember a few years ago when Shero was about to trade Polliot to Nucks for Kessler? Think he should have done it?
- joescullz

IDK, Kesler is a shell of his former self. He sucks this season and that contract extension he got looks terrible already and it hasn't even begun.

Pouliot playing like he did last season is better than Cole, Warsofsky, and Scuderi (when he was here). Also this organization has a poor track record on assessing players so fans should not trust their opinions at all.
- jfkst1

Right, but what's most beneficial for Pouliot to become the absolute best player he can be? If the staff thinks it's to spend more time in the AHL, then it's probably that. Pouliot is not going anywhere. He is penguins property for the foreseeable future, and will be on the team as a regular at the latest next season. Just have some patience and it should pay off.

The organization hasn't assessed players well but you can't hold Shero's poor assessment track record against Rutherford.

how has tim erixon looked? is he any option at all for the pens?

Your coaching staff in the AHL who watch him every single day say he's not ready. But you still want to bring him up?

Obviously you want to see your blue chip prospect as soon as possible, but it would be best to defer to the professional coaches and scouts on whether he's ready or not.
- rangerdanger94

I call Shenanigans! Every good hockey person knows all you need is a few charts to know the truth, actually watching the product on ice isn't necessary if your numbers are strong.

With Pouliot I'd be willing to bet it's more about his life outside the rink...and the coaches just wanting to make sure he reaches a different level of confidence and maturity before he comes back to deal with the bigger pressure of an NHL career.

Knowing JR he will trade Pouliot for Niskenan or another D that RS traded for a 5th rdr

Only way I traded pouliot is when pens come in 3rd to last and they want to trade the 3rd overall pick and DP for 1st overall

I think RW has finally sold me, Pouliot should be brought up asap and should be given Dumoulin's spot in the lineup and Dumoulin should be shipped out for a bag of pucks before other teams realize he's a horrible player that will never make it in the NHL. I mean at 21 he only averaged .33pts/gm, then at 22 he only averaged .40pts/gm and even at the whooping age of 23 he could only manage .53pts/gm, only an organization as poorly run would give him a jersey when it's so clear he has no chance of playing in the NHL.

Right, but what's most beneficial for Pouliot to become the absolute best player he can be? If the staff thinks it's to spend more time in the AHL, then it's probably that. Pouliot is not going anywhere. He is penguins property for the foreseeable future, and will be on the team as a regular at the latest next season. Just have some patience and it should pay off.

The organization hasn't assessed players well but you can't hold Shero's poor assessment track record against Rutherford.
- rangerdanger94

The scouting/development personnel is largely the same. Mind you, only 10 months ago they thought it a good idea to trade Despres for Lovejoy.

@OverlySarcasticJaydog

Why ship out Dumo?

looked back at the 2012 Draft, there are only 4 draft picks in the top 20 that havent yet played a good chunk of games in the NHL: Griffin Reinhart (4), Derrick Pouliot (8), Slater Koekkoek (10), and Radek Faksa (13).

Some notable players taken after Pouliot: Trouba, Forsberg, Wilson, Hertl, Teravainen, and Ceci.

No doubt Shero hit a HR on Maatta at 22, but missing on Pouliot is pretty awful IMO. Not saying DP will be a bust, but saying looking at that list, a lot of guys couldve helped the penguins out a lot more over these past few years than DP.

@OverlySarcasticJaydog

Why ship out Dumo?
- Guile

Clearly he's horrible. RW just show that if a defenseman doesn't average .7pts/gm when they're 23 that there's basically no change he can be a good NHL defenseman so why waste time on a player that clearly has no future? Ship him out and let someone else be fooled.

Clearly he's horrible. RW just show that if a defenseman doesn't average .7pts/gm when they're 23 that there's basically no change he can be a good NHL defenseman so why waste time on a player that clearly has no future? Ship him out and let someone else be fooled.
- jaydogg1974

Thats points per game, in the AHL...

looked back at the 2012 Draft, there are only 4 draft picks in the top 20 that havent yet played a good chunk of games in the NHL: Griffin Reinhart (4), Derrick Pouliot (8), Slater Koekkoek (10), and Radek Faksa (13).

Some notable players taken after Pouliot: Trouba, Forsberg, Wilson, Hertl, Teravainen, and Ceci.

No doubt Shero hit a HR on Maatta at 22, but missing on Pouliot is pretty awful IMO. Not saying DP will be a bust, but saying looking at that list, a lot of guys couldve helped the penguins out a lot more over these past few years than DP.
- SuperHenderson13

I remember a lot of us flipping out bc he picked another D instead of going after Forsberg or Wilson. Then when Forsberg was traded people were saying how he must not have been good. Now look at him.

I know we can play the what if we drafted this guy or that but man we were lacking in forwards and Shero just wanted D

looked back at the 2012 Draft, there are only 4 draft picks in the top 20 that havent yet played a good chunk of games in the NHL: Griffin Reinhart (4), Derrick Pouliot (8), Slater Koekkoek (10), and Radek Faksa (13).

Some notable players taken after Pouliot: Trouba, Forsberg, Wilson, Hertl, Teravainen, and Ceci.

No doubt Shero hit a HR on Maatta at 22, but missing on Pouliot is pretty awful IMO. Not saying DP will be a bust, but saying looking at that list, a lot of guys couldve helped the penguins out a lot more over these past few years than DP.
- SuperHenderson13

Not sure you can really evaluate prospects that way, there are too many factors that go into how prospects develop to simply say that because Trouba was drafted after Pouliot and is better now he would have been a better pick.

I remember a lot of us flipping out bc he picked another D instead of going after Forsberg or Wilson. Then when Forsberg was traded people were saying how he must not have been good. Now look at him.

I know we can play the what if we drafted this guy or that but man we were lacking in forwards and Shero just wanted D
- nh4442

Many many Pens fans wanted Forsberg because he was supposed to go earlier and was considered one of the few safe picks in the draft.

Many many Pens fans wanted Forsberg because he was supposed to go earlier and was considered one of the few safe picks in the draft.
- jfkst1

It was like Saad all over again

I remember a lot of us flipping out bc he picked another D instead of going after Forsberg or Wilson. Then when Forsberg was traded people were saying how he must not have been good. Now look at him.

I know we can play the what if we drafted this guy or that but man we were lacking in forwards and Shero just wanted D
- nh4442

That's the problem with the "what if" game, once you start changing values the entire equation changes. It could be said that being traded, going back to Sweden year 1 and then spend the majority of year 2 in the AHL before becoming a full time pro last season all combined to make Forsberg the player he is in 2015. For all we know, if the Pens drafted him at #8 they may have rushed him into the NHL year 1 because they were so thin at wing, he would have struggled and it would have completely derailed his development and then we'd be sitting here today female doging about him being a bust because he never regained his form and became a productive NHL player. Every thing happens for a reason and trying to change the past only works out well in fairy tales.