Benoit Pouliot - A Case Study

All Minnesota Wild fans know who Benoit Pouliot is - the lanky winger from Ontario who never quite reached his potential and whose effort was always questioned. He had his ups and downs within Minnesota's system, sometimes showing promise but never having the break out year everyone hoped he would have.

And now he's moved on, probably for the better. GM Chuck Fletcher traded Pouliot (something ex-GM Doug Risebrough could never manage to do) to the Montreal Canadiens for Guillaume Latendresse.

But Pouliot's story is an interesting one. In his early career, he wasn't tapped as a high draft pick or future NHL star. He was good, but he didn't rise up the rankings until later in his CHL career. Eventually, he was taken fourth overall by the Wild in 2005 and you all know his story since.

After being drafted by the Sudbury Wolves of the OHL in the 11th round in 2002, Pouliot didn't make the team right away. He spent most of the 2003-2004 season playing for the Hawkesbury Hawks of the CJHL. This was also the season that Pouliot's dad grew very sick. Sylvain Pouliot had coached his three sons for years and helped inspire them and get them to become the players, and people, they are. But he had leukemia and the family knew he was not going to recover from it. Pouliot was called up to play some games for Sudbury in mid-February. He scored his first OHL goal on February 13, while his dad, too sick to drive to watch the games in person, listened on the radio. Sylvain passed away later that night. Benoit's mother and Wolves management decided to not tell Pouliot about his father's death, instead letting him play one more game, where he recorded an assist, before sending him back home where he learned the news. He spent a month at home with his family before Sudbury called him back up for their playoff run.
More detailed stories on Sylvain Pouliot from SLAM! Sports and ESPN the Magazine.

The next season (2004-2005) Pouliot's hockey career took off. He played in 67 games for the Wolves and racked up the points, scoring 29 goals and recording 38 assists for 67 points. He won the Emms Family Award for top rookie in the OHL and was named the Rookie of the Year for the CHL. His play gained him status as a top draft pick and people started talking. He was taken fourth overall in that summer's 2005 NHL Entry Draft by the Minnesota Wild, only behind Sidney Crosby (1), Bobby Ryan (2), and Jack Johnson (3). He was taken ahead of players like Carey Price (5), Anze Kopitar (11), Marc Staal (12), and Paul Stastny (44).

In 2005-2006, he played another season for the Wolves and also competed in the World Junior Championships for Team Canada. They won gold.

On an early morning in August of 2006, Pouliot was pulled over. Police suspected drunken driving, meanwhile Pouliot reportedly continued eating some chips and drinking his water. He failed a road test and continually hindered the investigation, according to court documents. His first breath sample registered at 140mg of alcohol in 100 ml of blood, almost two times the legal limit, and he refused to give a second breath sample, according to the Ottawa Citizen. According to reports, Pouliot acted cocky, something which ended up increasing his punishment. Reportedly these included: ignoring a list of available lawyers and instead asking to talk to his uncle, an officer; asking police if there was anything they could do other than taking his license; attempting to bribe the officer; pulling the "do you know who I am?" line. In the ruling this past summer, Pouliot was fined $2,000 and had his license taken away for one year. The Citizen quoted him as saying, when asked if it would affect him this season, “I don’t need a car to play hockey, so I don’t see a problem at all.”

Pouliot spent the next few seasons bouncing around the Minnesota system, mostly in the AHL with the Houston Aeros. He's gone through good and bad streaks, showing signs of skill and of laziness. He's had fans reminiscing of what could have been of the 2005 draft, but was showing signs of improvement with the Wild this season. This year was seen as a fresh slate for Pouliot under the new administration but also, possibly, a last chance. He had been playing relatively well and seemed to be trying hard most of the time before getting injured.

But now he gets a new start in Montreal. Hopefully for him, this is what he needs to take off and reach his potential. It will be interesting to see how he does for Montreal once healthy again. It's been an interesting track Pouliot's taken to get where he is today. He hasn't failed, but he also hasn't reached the level it's believed he can.

Observations from a Post Thanksgiving Wild Win

I was able to take advantage of the few days I was home this week for Thanksgiving and get to the Wild's 5-3 victory over division rival Avalanche this afternoon. Having been in a different state since the beginning of training camp, I've only been able to see the Wild play live once this season, and that was in an opposing team's building (the United Center in Chicago, a 3-1 Hawks win). Being back at the X was great, especially watching the game with two five-year-old boys whose comments made the game even more interesting.

Attendance - I've heard bad things about the attendance this season, both with the Wild and NHL in general. While the X didn't seem vastly empty, it was abnormally easy to park. I arrived about 35 minutes before game time, enough time to catch about 10 minutes of warm-ups. The lot I parked in, about a five minute walk from the X, was almost empty. Warm-ups also were oddly tame. Usually, there are swarms of people up close to the glass and in the lower bowl, watching the team warm up and hoping to get a puck thrown to them. It wasn't very crowded down by the glass today, which was a surprise to me.

Pink Jerseys - I heard a woman intelligently talking about the pros and cons of 6'7'' forward Derek Boogaard and 6'8'' defenseman John Scott. She was wearing one of the Wild's pink jerseys. I'm glad to find more women who understand hockey, but I still think the pink jerseys are ridiculous. They're pink, sparkly, and swirly...if other people want to wear them that's fine, but really NHL? Stereotype much?

On the roster but not dressing - Benoit Pouliot? No, announcer man, I do not believe Benoit Pouliot is currently on the Wild's roster. According to Adrian Dater's twitter, the¥ also announced Brandon Yip, who isn't with the team, as a scratch. Oops.

Guillaume Latendresse - Latendresse made his Wild debut this afternoon after coming to the team in exchange for Pouliot. I thought he played well and added some good energy when he was on the ice. It's got to be hard coming to a new team and not skating then being thrown right into a division game (and starting).

Ice Girls - I had heard from one person that the Wild had started using ice girls this season, but I didn't hear much else so I didn't think about it too much. But I was curious about what I would find for an ice crew today at the game. While I did find ice girls, personally not my favorite marketing idea, I found a somewhat different version of other teams'. While there were women shoveling the ice instead of the normal men (and children who pushed the buckets) like past seasons, they were fully clothed and didn't make me want to puke. Instead of skimpy "outfits", the wore black pants and a women's version of the new alternate green jerseys. And they could skate, and well.

Kobasew's hat trick - With a lack of finishing ability on this team, someone has to step up. This afternoon, it was Chuck Kobasew. After two big goals in the second, he finished off the trick with an empty net goal in the third. Although it was empty net and with under a minute left in the game, there were surprisingly few hats thrown on the ice. Congrats to Kobasew, the first Wild player to record a hat trick since Marian Gaborik's five goal game against the Rangers, according to Russo.

Minnesota's youth - is perfectly fine. The two five-year-olds who I attended the game with both adore hockey. While one of them was somewhat scared of the goal horn, they were both excellent Minnesota boys who love the game. They asked loads of questions, from who was the strongest player on the team to who was the fastest player on the team, along with "why is it called hockey?" The answer to this, according to the other five-year-old, was because they play with hockey sticks and hockey pucks, so obviously it's called hockey. One of the boys, who listens to the State of Hockey anthem every night before he goes to bed, also informed his dad of his future plans: to play for the Gophers and then play for the Wild so he can stay at home. Minnesota's hockey future is looking strong, fans.

The Current State of 18,568RW

On Tuesday, Steve Lepore over at Puck the Media posted a blog entry with his opinions on the best blog for each NHL team. 18,568RW made the cut for the Wild. Understandably, not everyone in the comments agreed with that.

Obviously, this blog lately hasn't been what it used to be. Updates have been embarrassingly infrequent and there hasn't been much at all going on. I know that, I understand that, and I hate it. I don't want to rarely post and I don't want to cut down on my interaction with the blogosphere, but obviously I've been somewhat MIA so far this season. And I feel like I should clear some things up.

I'm 18. A freshman at a very competitive university trying to balance academics with athletics, friends, and life, all in a new setting (lifestyle-wise and location-wise). I'm fairly young and still trying to figure everything out. Unfortunately, one of the things that suffered because of that was this blog. If I had the time and means, I would update this blog all day everyday, because hockey and writing about it are two of the things I truly love. But that's not an option for me. I'm not trying to make excuses for my poor work this season, I know I've sucked. I'm simply trying to explain to you, the reader, what's going on.

One thing I wanted to make absolutely clear is that I have not given up on this team or this blog. Yeah, the Wild are having a hard season. So what? That doesn't mean I'm going to sit around and pout about it and decide I don't like hockey or this team anymore. While I haven't written as much, that's strictly due to time constraints, not lack of interest. My appreciation for hockey has probably grown even more since I've left home. Not being able to easily flick on a tv to catch part of a game or have the Star Tribune sports section sitting on the counter every morning ready for me to read has made me realize how lucky I was before. Reading about special events at the X or promotions being put on kills me. It still takes me a few minutes sometimes to realize St. Paul isn't a 20 minute drive away anymore, it's a seven hour one and that I don't even have access to a car. I don't think I could ever give up on hockey or on the Wild, even if I wanted to.

So what does this mean? It means I'm going to try harder. I understand I probably lost some readers during that lag and I know for a fact that site hits have gone down (not surprisingly). But the numbers really don't matter to me. The more readers and exposure I get, great. But what I do care about is hockey, and writing about it, and being part of a great group of people - hockey fans. And that's something I never want to lose. Hopefully I'll be able to start generating more content and work towards bringing the blog back to what it used to be. Obviously it's not going to be exactly the same, but maybe over time it will turn into something better.

Overall, the message I want to get across is that I still love hockey. And I hope most of my readers know that.

Wild @ Blackhawks - The "Wild Rumpus"

Dustin Byfuglien, a Minneapolis native, and the Chicago Blackhawks take advantage of the current Where the Wild Things Are publicity for their game against Minnesota.

The Wild are in Chicago tonight to take on the Blackhawks at the United Center. I will be in attendance at the game, as will WRT, I believe. No news yet as to whether Brent Seabrook or Jonathan Toews will be suiting up for the Hawks. While not having them would be good for the Wild, I personally really enjoy watching them play. Tonight is also the return of Marty Havlat to Chicago; it'll be interesting to see the type of reception he gets.

The game tonight is televised on VERSUS at 7pm.

Don't forget to vote in the new poll - which reunion are you most excited for?

College is busy...shocking, right? Expect a more normal posting schedule soon.

Hockey's in the Air

First, I want to apologize for the lack of posts recently. Between closing out my internship from this summer and getting ready for/moving to/adjusting to college, things have been busy. But hopefully now that I'm more settled in and the season is right around the corner, things will be back to normal.

Training camp began recently, the Wild redesigned their website, preseason games have already begun, and hockey is definitely back.

I won't try to recap all the news that's been happening recently, as I'm sure you're all aware of that. But here are some things Wild fans can look forward to in this new season...

MARTIN HAVLAT



GREG ZANON



SHANE HNIDY



PETR SYKORA

And maybe the breakout year for James Sheppard and Benoit Pouliot? A resurgence from Brent Burns and Pierre-Marc Bouchard? A permanent captaincy for Mikko Koivu (finally)? Proof from Martin Havlat that he's worth his long-term contract?

Get excited, Wild fans. Hockey's almost back.

Check out and vote in the new poll! - What are you most excited about this season?

The Meaning of C

The large C stands proud on the shoulder of 30 National Hockey League players. That C represents the distinct honor they have of captaining their team. Out of the approximately 600 or so players in the NHL, these 30 have garnered an honor that demands respect from other players, organizations, fans, and the league.

The role of a captain to an NHL team is huge - they lead, they represent, they act as a liaison for the players. When something is disputed on the ice, the duty of fixing it goes to the team captain. When the season starts going downhill or a team goes through a rough stretch, eyes immediately turn to the captain to see what he will do. When something goes wrong off the ice, much of the time the captain is expected to not only fix it or help fix it, but to explain it. When their team wins the Stanley Cup, the captain is the first to raise it.

Some of the best players in league history have had their legacies added to by their captaincy. Not only were they a great player, teammate, or person, but they were the captain. There are the captains throughout history who have left lasting marks on their organizations - past players like Steve Yzerman with the Detroit Red Wings (captain for 20 seasons) or Ray Bourque with the Boston Bruins (captain for 15 seasons). There are the captains of the NHL today who have solidified their roles as great leaders and rocks for their respective teams - guys like the recently retired Joe Sakic of the Colorado Avalanche, Jarome Iginla of the Calgary Flames, or Nicklas Lidstrom of the Wings. And there are the up-and-comers, young players who have been named captain who have already established their roles and are expected to continue that - future greats like Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins (youngest captain in NHL history) and Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks (third youngest captain in NHL history).

For the Minnesota Wild, there has never been that one captain...there's been a plethora of them. Under Jacques Lemaire's reign, no permanent captain was named. The C was rotated every month, no player ever wearing it for more than two consecutive months. Past Wild captains have ranged from super skilled players like Marian Gaborik to enforcers like Matt Johnson. While the Gaborik captaincy was seen as more of a motivational tool for him going into the playoffs, many guys have worn the C as proof of their leadership skills (some of the past names that stand out include Brian Rolston, Wes Walz, and Brad Bombardir). But no player has ever had the chance to really solidify his role as a captain for the team.

Last season, there were many deserving names as captain or alternate captain, the three most influential during the season, in my opinion, being young center Mikko Koivu (captain for October, November, January, March and April of last season), and grizzled vets Andrew Brunette (February of last season, plus many times in his previous stint with the Wild) and Owen Nolan (alternate captain for much of the season). And out of all the captains the Wild had last season, the one who seemed to most embrace the captain role was Koivu.

There was much rallying from fans (including this blog) to name Koivu as first permanent captain, but Lemaire would not change the system he had in place. But Lemaire has moved on to the New Jersey Devils and new coach Todd Richards has said he will name one permanent captain. Fans have to assume it will be Koivu (there's a petition going here, if you feel so obliged), but with a completely new coach there's no way to know for sure what will happen. Koivu essentially turned into the franchise player once he stepped up and fans got sick of Gaborik. I have never talked to someone, Wild fan or not, who does not like Koivu or his style of play. He plays hard, has heart, and is respectable on and off the ice.

As the first permanent captain of the Wild, whichever player is handed the honor has a large responsibility. That player must lead the team in this new era and time of transition. Much changed this offseason and expectations for the team are higher than before. The Captain of the Minnesota Wild, whoever that will be, must lead the team to success.

Who do you think the first permanent captain of the Minnesota Wild should be? Vote in the new poll or leave a comment!

Analyzing the Gaborik Situation - Two Months Later

When I finally got around to flipping my Wild calendar to the month of August (and am now finally getting around to blogging about it, two weeks later), a slightly unpleasant sight struck me - Marian Gaborik. Not that Gaborik himself necessarily causes a negative reaction, but the entire Gaborik situation Minnesota went through was unpleasant and still (and probably always will) cause a disgruntled feeling.

There were so many highs and lows in the Gaborik-Wild-fan relationship, that there was a jumble of mixed feelings during his time here. A lot of fans loved him, a lot of fans were sick of him, a lot of fans just enjoyed making fun of his groin. But he was always a Wild original and dynamic on the ice, and that's one thing fans will never forget.

But what most have realized is that it was time for the Wild and Gaborik to part ways. It was painful (especially getting nothing in return for so much talent) but it had to happen. The bonds between Gaborik and the Wild were too strained for it to be a positive relationship anymore. Minnesota could no longer deal with Gaborik and Gaborik could no longer deal with Minnesota. While all agree that it would have been much more beneficial to trade Gaborik and get something in return, once that didn't happen it became evident that Gaborik would no longer be wearing the Iron Range Red and Forest Green.

While signing winger Martin Havlat to a deal softened the blow of losing Gaborik (can Gaborik make bird calls half as good as Havlat's?), Minnesota fans were still a little bit shocked that the Gaborik era was over for good. This time, he wasn't returning to the ice for the team. It wasn't just another case of wait 20 games and he'll be back, he just tweaked something and he'll be scoring goals for the Wild soon! He's gone for good this time. He's not lurking around the training room, in his downtown condo, or on the ice at the Xcel Energy Center. He's at Madison Square Gardens, with his new teammates, coaches, management, and fans in his new home with the New York Rangers.

So Gaborik no longer plays in the State of Hockey (unless he's in the visiting lockerroom) and the Wild have a new oft-injured, scoring winger to worry about. But Gaborik helped shape the Wild and create so many memories that this team is now built around. Minnesota is still a young team and its history is still being created, and there's no arguing that Gaborik is a huge part of that.