Last Friday, the Edmonton Oilers sent out Stuart Skinner, Brett Kulak, and a 2029 second-round pick in exchange for Tristan Jarry and former 2019 first-rounder Samuel Poulin.

While all eyes were on Jarry in his debut win in Edmonton colours Saturday night, Samuel Poulin also had a strong debut with the Bakersfield Condors that night, finishing with two points on the second line with Finnish forwards in Roby Jarventie and Viljami Marjala.

Samuel Poulin was a first-round selection in 2019 by Pittsburgh after having a great draft year, scoring 29 goals and 76 points in 67 games for the QMJHL’s Sherbrooke Phoenix. The next season, Poulin stepped up his game, putting up 32 goals and 77 points in only 46 games played. So far, Samuel has put up some solid numbers in his AHL career with 137 points in 208 total games played. The main issue is that the Blainville, Quebec native has only 15 NHL games played on a Pittsburgh team that has been going through a transition period and playing a fair amount of young guys.

One of Poulin’s strengths in his game is the ability to put the puck in the net. Right now, the six-foot-two winger is on pace for 28 goals, and his ability to find the soft areas of the ice was on display in his debut, as you’ll see below in the first clip.

It was his first game as a Condor, but the former Penguin and Roby Jarventie were linking up early on plays. Poulin also showed the ability to find open space with Wilkes-Barre. In the next clip the left-shot forward scores off a broken play, but he makes a beautiful cut to the middle to be an open option as the F3. Poulin is rewarded by being the only player around the puck and finishing.

The next and final clip detailing his scoring ability shows off the pure velocity of Poulin’s shot. The 227-lb. winger opens up his hips before accepting the pass and ripping a shot knocking off the goalies helmet.

When I was first watching film of Stan Bowman’s newest acquisition I came into the process expecting a lot of shooting from any angle, but I was fairly surprised to see how well Poulin can hold the puck and move it around to his teammates at times. Having the six-foot-two, 227-lb. frame definitely helps with protecting the puck, but Poulin showcased a ton of trust and strength in his edges. In the clip below he is able to get the defenceman on his backside and even though he is falling down Poulin manages to make an excellent play to get the puck to his teammate in the middle.

In the next clip it is a bit more boring/simple than the past one, but I think it matters. Poulin shows the ability to do a smooth outside edge turn at almost 230 lbs. and he also shows the patience to not touch the puck till the opposition is blocked by his backside and his legs are protecting his stick. Great tendencies.

The final area of Poulin’s game I would like to highlight is his playmaking ability and more so the ability to get the puck from the boards to the middle of the ice even if it is a bit risky. This was even on display in his first game as a Condor as you’ll see below. Samuel Poulin is on the wall and threads a beautiful pass to Rem Pitlick in the slot who gets a shot on net.

Good things happen when you can get the puck off the boards and I came away impressed a few times with Poulin’s confidence to get the puck to the middle. The next clip is another example of the former Penguins prospect showcasing this ability. Poulin is on the wall with his back to the opponent (he loves to do this) under extreme pressure as another two defenders come into his bubble, but he finds a lane to a streaking Scranton player who makes a nice play to give Poulin the secondary assist.

Such a beautiful pass. Speaking of beautiful passes, in our next clip Poulin shows us he has a bit of deception to his game. The former Sherbrooke captain is on a two-on-two rush when his linemate starts pulling away from his defender Poulin recognizes this and drags the puck into his shooting form only to get the defender to open up a lane for him to put the puck through. Another excellent play.

Being 24 and turning 25 in February, Poulin is done developing physically and most players don’t see a ton of change in their play past this point. It would be a miracle if Poulin ever put up the numbers he had in juniors, but being on pace for 68 points in 71 games is another step up in his game.

I see a world where Poulin can give you some helpful minutes as a fourth-liner. He kills penalties, his work ethic on the forecheck and backcheck is consistent, and he can sometimes take a puck from the wall to the middle to advance possession. In reality this is more of a throw in for a Condors team who has been in need of a forward that is willing to play on the defensive side of the game.

However, I think he can have a bigger impact than we give him credit for. Building off my last point about Bakersfield needing help with a two-way presence on the forward group, Poulin’s game is the ultimate compliment at the AHL level. He is a jack-of-all-trades and can do the dirty work for a line if they need. I think his game will allow a lot of the other Oiler prospects play to their strengths whenever they are paired with Poulin.

Time will tell us how the trade pans out, but so far I like the addition and theory behind adding a Samuel Poulin.