Pulock anchoring Isles’ blue line

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This article was published 04/12/2018 (2468 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — The choice to keep the puck on his stick, dart down the wall with his head on a swivel and pinpoint an open man was one that defenceman Ryan Pulock would have made without hesitation just a few years ago.

But adjustments to his decision-making were required when he began making a living playing hockey, even if those changes conflicted with his natural instincts. The former Brandon Wheat Kings captain knew his defensive work needed major refining before the New York Islanders organization threw him into the NHL fire.

So, he directed his energy toward advancing his defensive soundness the past four seasons, initially with the Islanders’ AHL affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, and then last season on a full-time basis in New York.

“I think that was the biggest thing last year and this year. I wanted to make sure defensively I could be trusted, be reliable, because I knew with my offensive instincts, that part of my game would come eventually,” Pulock, 24, who hails from Grandview, Man., said this week. “I just knew if I wanted to stick in the lineup every day and have a long career, I had to really find that defensive side of the game.

“Over the past year and a half, I’ve really improved in that area where I can be trusted in late-game situations or against big matchups. Now, it’s a matter of bringing that offence and mixing it all together.”

Islanders head coach Barry Trotz said his second-pairing, right-shot defenceman has looked unmistakably confident and composed in recent weeks, rarely scrambling after being caught out of position. And, he added, a heady play Saturday demonstrated Pulock’s desire to be more assertive offensively for the Metropolitan Division squad.

With his team locked in a 2-2 tie with the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets, Pulock set up centre Casey Cizikas’s game-winning goal at Nassau Coliseum, the Islanders’ first regular-season victory at the old arena since 2015. Pulock corralled the puck at the Columbus blue line, slid down the boards and froze several Blue Jackets skaters as he circled the net and found Cizikas in the slot. It was his seventh assist of the season, to go with the game-winning goal he scored Oct. 28 against the Carolina Hurricanes.

“With Ryan, he’s a young defenceman taking on a much bigger role with our hockey club, and he’s gaining more confidence as he takes his game to another level,” said the Winnipeg-born and Dauphin-raised Trotz, who guided the Washington Capitals to the Stanley Cup in June but left less than two weeks later to join the Islanders. “I think early in the season, I put a lot on his plate and maybe needed to take some back. But as he’s gained confidence and respect from the team for the game that needs to be played in our league, he’s playing a bigger role again.

“He’s got my trust as a player. You saw that on the goal (against Columbus), showing some poise with the puck, holding onto it and getting a great assist on a big goal for us.”

The Islanders selected Pulock with their first pick (15th overall) in the 2013 NHL draft, enamoured by his offensive intuition, hard, accurate passes and powerful shot from the point. They also knew they were getting a rugged, 6-2, 215-pound defender with maturity and leadership.

Pulock wasn’t an overnight sensation, spending a fourth year in the Western Hockey League after he was drafted, then suiting up for 16 games over three seasons (2014-17) with the NHL squad and 163 in the AHL.

After clawing to crack the New York roster, Pulock finally established himself as a crucial part of the blue-line crew during the 2017-18 campaign under then-head coach Doug Weight, scoring 10 goals and adding 22 assists in his rookie season, while averaging just over 18 minutes of ice time per game. He finished a minus-4 on a team that surrendered the most goals (296) in the league.

This season, Trotz partnered him with Adam Pelech during the pre-season and the start of the regular season but has paired Pulock with Thomas Hickey in recent weeks. Over the past half-dozen games, the pairing has lined up against the opponents’ most skilled forward units, while also taking regular shifts on the penalty kill. Trotz rolls out Pulock and Nick Leddy as his primary point men on the power play.

Pulock, who signed a two-year, US$4 million contract in July, is the busiest of the Islanders’ blue-liners, averaging 22:57 of ice time a night, just ahead of Leddy (22:03), a nine-year veteran and former Stanley Cup champion with the Chicago Blackhawks.

“I love the work. Even when I was younger, I’ve always felt like I play better when I play more,” Pulock said. “Getting the opportunity to play in all situations, it’s what you want as a player. I’m just trying to make the most of it and trying to do a good job with those big minutes.

“Barry has really helped me elevate my game. Coming into this year, at five-on-five, we’re just so much better. It’s crazy how someone can come in and make that big of a difference.”

Pulock is the middle child of Dave and Tannis Pulock, whose three boys lived and breathed hockey in the Parkland area of the province. Sadly, the family has been through more than its fair share of heartache.

Younger brother Brock died in March 2010 in a motor vehicle collision when he was 13. Several family members were in the car, including Ryan, who was 16 at the time.

Not a day goes by that the Islanders blue-liner doesn’t think about his brother.

“It’s a lot easier now to think about and talk about because time has passed. But he definitely crosses my mind every day and it definitely motivates me, too,” Pulock said. “Growing up, we spent a lot of time together at the rink and even at home, passing pucks or shooting, we spent a lot of time doing that. We both dreamed of being in the NHL, and now that I’m here and I’m playing it’s more special because I can kind of do it for him as well and try to make him proud of what I’ve been able to accomplish here.

“Growing up, he always wore the No. 4, so I have that written on the knob of each of my sticks. Even before games, I usually think of him a little bit and hope he can bring me some luck.”

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