By: Neil Simmons | Follow me on Twitter / X: @NSimmz
Every National Hockey League player who has donned the Boston Bruins’ iconic Spoked B sweater throughout their 100-year history has arrived in Boston with some pedigree. Whether they were blue-chip draft picks or career grinders who spent years in the minors working their way to the top, everyone proved their capability as a hockey player to compete in the best league in the world.
Sometimes, the draft status doesn’t quite match the player, and they don’t meet the enormous expectations heaped upon them but still go on to have a solid career. Some players fit this description coming out of the draft almost every year, but former Bruin Benoit Pouliot did so while being drafted around multiple future Hall of Famers.
Benoit Pouliot was drafted fourth overall by the Minnesota Wild in the 2005 NHL Draft, the first after the lockout canceled season. The ‘05 Draft was notable for being the Sidney Crosby Sweepstakes, but other prominent names from that first round include Carey Price, Anze Kopitar, Marc Staal, Tuukka Rask, and TJ Oshie. Pouliot was coming off a breakout point-per-game season with the Sudbury Wolves in the Ontario Hockey League. After the draft, he returned to the team, matching his previous season’s point total (65) in 51 games, and signed with the Wild’s AHL affiliate Houston Aeros, making two playoff appearances.
Pouliot’s first three professional seasons saw him spend most of his time with Houston, struggling to gain momentum with Minnesota in limited appearances with the big club. Pouliot made his NHL debut in November of 2006, making three appearances before being sent back down and not returning to the Wild for almost a full calendar year. Upon his return to the NHL, Pouliot scored his first two NHL goals in the same game against division rival Calgary amid a crucial late-season playoff race. After another season split between Minnesota and Houston, the Wild moved on from their former top draft choice and, in November of 2009, dealt Pouliot to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Guillaume Latendresse.
It was in Montreal where Pouliot finally established his footing in the NHL. No longer saddled with the expectations of a top pick, Pouliot flourished with consistent ice time in Montreal’s bottom-six forward group. He set then career highs with 15 goals and 24 points in 39 games with the Canadiens after recording just 18 points across three-plus seasons with Minnesota. Pouliot also appeared in all 18 playoff games for Montreal during their eighth-seed run to the Conference Finals, chipping in a pair of assists.
Pouliot maintained his form with Montreal through his first full season with the team and parlayed his success into a one-year contract with the defending Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins. Pouliot’s newfound profile as a physical bottom-six grinder meshed well with the Bruins’ punishing style of play, predominantly playing on the third line with Chris Kelly and Rich Peverly or Brian Rolston. He finished with 32 points and a +18 rating, setting a new career high in points for the third straight year. He scored his first career playoff goal, a critical third-period equalizer, during Boston’s first-round seven-game dogfight against the Washington Capitals.
Facing a cap crunch in the offseason, Boston traded Pouliot’s rights to the Tampa Bay Lightning for forward Michel Ouellet and a 5th-round draft choice, which turned into another Seth Griffith, another Forgotten Bruin. Pouliot played one season with the rebuilding Lightning before signing with the New York Rangers, his fifth team in five seasons.
Pouliot’s lone season with New York was arguably his most successful in more ways than one. He set career highs in both games played and points, with 80 and 36, respectively, and was vital to the Rangers’ run to the Stanley Cup Final. He scored the series-winning goal in game seven of the first round against Philadelphia and added a pair in the Final against Los Angeles, finishing with five goals and ten points, blasting past his previous playoff bests.
Seeking a long-term contract after bouncing the Eastern Conference for five years, Pouliot signed a 5-year deal with the Edmonton Oilers. He maintained his consistent 30+ point production for two seasons with the Oil before dropping to 14 points in 67 games and pointless in 13 playoff games in the 2016-17 season. His contract was bought out that summer, and he signed a one-year deal with the Buffalo Sabres, retiring after the 2017-18 season.
Pouliot finished with 130 goals and 263 points in 625 games. While not necessarily meeting the lofty expectations of being a Top-5 draft pick, Pouliot still went on to carve out a valuable role for himself on several teams and lead a respectable NHL career.
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