Poolman swimming, not sinking

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This article was published 13/10/2017 (2891 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

VANCOUVER — Tucker Poolman nearly had no hockey town to call home six years ago.

He was fresh out of East Grand Forks High School and on the hunt for a junior team. A couple of organizations near his home in Minnesota, and from neighbouring states North Dakota and Wisconsin, gave cursory looks, but made no grand gestures offering a place for him to hang his skates.

Poolman’s long-term plan to play college hockey seemed like a long shot at best, and the goal to one day earn a living in the game had fast become a figment of his imagination.

“I never thought I’d get a chance,” he said matter-of-factly Thursday afternoon, swiping sweat from his forehead while sitting in the visitors’ dressing room at Rogers Arena, home of the Vancouver Canucks.

“I wanted it, but you start to wonder if it’s going to happen.”

Poolman finally got his shot — a gig with the Wichita Falls (Texas) Wildcats of the North American Hockey League that eventually paved the way to a three-year stint with the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks.

Now, he’s getting an even bigger chance to shine.

The 24-year-old defenceman played the second game of his NHL career Thursday night, taking a regular shift for the Winnipeg Jets against the Canucks.

The Central Division club doubled up on the hosts 4-2 and has won two straight contests since the calm, steady blue-liner — who wasn’t drafted until his final year of eligibility — was inserted into the lineup Monday night in Edmonton.

With Dustin Byfuglien sidelined with a lower-body injury, Poolman learned two hours before puck drop he was slotting in.

“It was definitely a wave of energy and emotion. I just tried to relax,” he said. “I went back to my phone and texted a few people and went back and checked to make sure they got it. It was exciting. I got to talk to my mom and dad after (Monday night’s) game, just quickly because we had a flight, and then I talked to them (Tuesday). It was awesome.”

His folks, Mark and LeAnne Poolman, along with brothers Colton and Mason, back home in East Grand Forks, tuned in to a newly purchased NHL cable channel to watch his debut against the Oilers.

Poolman, just shy of 6-4 and about 210 pounds, said he tried to stick to the basics against Oilers star Connor McDavid and the rest of the Pacific Division squad.

“It went fine. I didn’t want to over-handle, just stick to the structure and if there was a play to be made, try to make it,” he said. “I didn’t really have an opportunity to do anything special. By the time we had the lead, I really wanted to play it safe.

“I’m happy with it. I just want to, hopefully, help the team out any way I can.”

His games in Edmonton and Vancouver were like mirror images.

In each, he took 19 shifts and had about 14-and-a-half minutes of ice time. He was credited with two shots against Oilers’ goalie Cam Talbot, and is still looking for his milestone first NHL point.

Poolman is tall, physical and mobile, keenly aware of scenarios unfolding around him and opting for smart, sensible plays that have, almost exclusively, been the right ones.

Indeed, it’s a small sample size, but to say he has impressed would be an understatement.

“Right from Day 1 in training camp, he looked very comfortable, just a smart, smart player. He doesn’t get himself into trouble trying to do too much and he was like that in his first game. He looked very mature and composed on the ice,” said Winnipeg head coach Paul Maurice, prior to the Jets-Canucks tilt.

“He did one play (in Edmonton), kick it to a forward, jump into a hole and get it back and then kick it to the outside, so there’s some (puck-moving ability) there as well.

“But he’s smart. He’s not trying to sell that as what he does for the team. He’s selling a real, good, simple game and that there is some upside to what he can do. Once he gets more experience in the NHL, he’ll be able to do a little bit more of that.”

Looking back, Poolman said the last-ditch effort in the fall of 2011 to latch on with Wichita Falls paid dividends. He spent a year there and then moved on to a productive season with the Omaha Lancers of the United States Hockey League, catching the Jets’ attention in the summer of 2013.

Winnipeg called his name in the fifth round (127th overall) of the NHL draft.

He played one more season in Omaha and had several colleges circling, but made one of the easiest choices of his life — committing to the school across the river from where he grew up and where his dad played football in the late ’80s and has served as the hockey program’s athletic trainer for more than two decades, doubling as the Fighting Hawks’ strength and conditioning co-ordinator.

“I grew up around the UND rink and that’s probably the reason I love hockey so much because I was always hanging out there,” he said. “It was the last school I visited. I didn’t want to make any decisions because that’s the school I wanted to go to.”

Poolman won a national collegiate championship in 2016, but suffered a pair of injured shoulders in the playoffs in March of this year and was done for the year. The Fighting Hawks couldn’t repeat, losing 4-3 in double-overtime to Boston University in the NCAA West Regional semifinal.

Tucker signed a one-year, US$1.775-million, entry-level deal with the Jets on March 30 and went under the knife to fix his right shoulder the day after. He underwent a procedure on the left shoulder three weeks later.

During training camp, he was eager to give the shoulders a workout and was demonstrably pleased with the way they responded, especially after some physical play in the pre-season.

A hard hit by Oilers’ rugged winger Milan Lucic earlier this week was the best test of all.

“That was a good little welcome,” Poolman said, laughing. “Some guys finish their check but only go halfway, and I just thought it was going to be more of a bump. He finished it.”

Maurice said it’s another lesson learned for a player whose path to the show had more bumps than others.

“There are all kinds of late bloomers,” said Maurice, in his third full season behind the Winnipeg bench. “There are other players, too, that are 22 or 23 who feel they’re behind their potential because they’re not there, yet. But there’s time. (Poolman) stayed with it… he’s worked hard to get here and he seems very patient, too.

“The guys willing to grind and work, and are comfortable with where they’re at but push themselves to get better, those guys have a little different taste when they get here.”

Right now, Poolman is savouring every minute.

jason.bell@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @WFPJasonBell