Derrick Pouliot signs 1-year contract with Henderson
HENDERSON (July 31, 2021) – Henderson Silver Knights General Manager Kelly McCrimmon announced today, July 31, that the Henderson Silver Knights have signed defenseman Derrick Pouliot to a one-year AHL contract for the 2021-22 season.
Pouliot, 27, joins the Silver Knights for his eighth professional season. A first-round draft pick (8th overall) of the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2012, Pouliot tallied three goals and 14 points in 25 AHL games with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms last season.
The Estevan, Saskatchewan native has appeared in 197 AHL games with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, San Antonio Rampage, and Phantoms, collecting 30 goals and 123 points, as well as a plus-6 rating. Pouliot was named an AHL All-Star in 2015, 2016, and 2020. He enjoyed his best offensive AHL season with San Antonio in 2019-20, finishing sixth among AHL defensemen in scoring and marking career-highs with 32 assists and 39 points.
The 6-foot defenseman has played in 202 career NHL games with the Penguins, Vancouver Canucks, and St. Louis Blues, posting eight goals and 48 points. He was a member of the Penguins’ 2016 Stanley Cup Championship team.
Prior to his professional career, Pouliot appeared in 247 games for the Portland Winterhawks in the Western Hockey League, totaling 42 goals and 205 points from 2010 to 2014. Pouliot won a WHL Championship with the Winterhawks in 2013 and represented Canada at the 2014 World Junior Championship. In 2014, Pouliot won the Bill Hunter Trophy as the WHL’s Top Defenseman and was also named the Canadian Hockey League’s Defenseman of the Year.
Pouliot becomes the second player to sign an AHL contract with the Silver Knights for the 2021-22 season, joining forward Jermaine Loewen.
Derrick Pouliot, Defenseman
Birthplace: Estevan, Saskatchewan
Height: 6-0
Weight: 207 lbs.
Age: 27
Notes:
Three goals and 14 points in 25 games with Lehigh Valley in 2020-21
Stanley Cup Champion with Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016
Three-time AHL All-Star (2015, 2016, 2020)
Ranked sixth in scoring among AHL defensemen in 2019-20
WHL Top Defenseman and CHL Defenseman of the Year in 2014
WHL Champion with Portland Winterhawks in 2013
First-round selection (8th overall) of the Penguins in the 2012 NHL Draft