Bolton is a great kid who works extremely hard. Bolton came to me at the start of this summer. Pleasure working with him
Ahead of his time
Bolton Pouliot
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By Greg Meachem
Published: September 10, 2010 6:45 AM
Updated: September 10, 2010 9:55 AM
Updated: September 10, 2010 9:55 AM
Bolton Pouliot wasn’t shooting for the stars when he checked into the Red Deer Rebels training camp as a raw rookie.
Flash forward two weeks and the Rebels coaching staff is hoping that they have a future Western Hockey League star in the Calgary product.
The 16-year-old goaltender basically secured the full-time back-up berth with his play through camp and the Black and White intrasquad game and looked stellar while blocking pucks through the second half of Wednesday’s preseason-opening 3-0 win over the Calgary Hitmen at Airdrie.
Pouliot, one of three goalies — 20-year-olds Darcy Kuemper and Kraymer Barnstable being the others — remaining on the Rebels roster, admitted Thursday that he didn’t expect to be at this point so soon.
“My goal this fall was just to make the Black and White game. I didn’t plan on signing or playing exhibition games,” he said. “My goal was to get as far as the Black and White game and anything else would be just extra.
“I have a lot of work to do from here and as long as I keep pushing I think I have a chance to stay. I have to keep developing and learning from the other guys.”
Pouliot stopped all 18 shots he faced Wednesday and appeared calm, cool and collected in the process.
“It was very nerve-wracking just getting in there, but eventually I kind of calmed down. I made that first save and everything kind of played out from there,” he said.
The fact that Pouliot was able to maintain his composure in his first-ever WHL contest was a testament to the training he received at the Goalie Development Institute in Calgary during the summer.
“I worked with a mental trainer, Shaun Smith, at GDI,” said the six-foot-one netminder.
“We worked on making sure I don’t get too up or down. Shaun really stressed the importance of staying level-headed and he probably helped me get this far.”
Pouliot, selected in the seventh round of the 2009 WHL bantam draft, enjoyed a strong season with the minor midget AAA Calgary Royals last winter and didn’t disappoint the Rebels scouts who caught him in action.
“Our scouts told us that he’d push for a spot here this year,” said Rebels head coach/vice-president of hockey operations Jesse Wallin.
“Until you see him yourself, it’s really hard to tell, but he certainly had a very good training camp and last night the screws tightened up a bit. He moved up to the next step, the preseason, and I thought he handled that really well. We’ll see he continues to progress.”
Wallin is confident that Pouliot has all the tools to progress into a capable and perhaps superior WHL goaltender.
“He’s got a lot of qualities that we like,” said Wallin. “(Rebels goalie coach) Brent Belecki has been very impressed with him in training camp and Bolton is a very mature young man, he carries himself very well. I think you can see that in his play. He plays with a lot of poise, a lot of confidence. He’s big and strong and moves well for a young guy.
“The biggest thing is he’s a leader and he competes. Through the rookie camp and into main camp you could hear him taking charge on the ice, you could hear him talking to his defencemen. He’s a take-charge kid and a real competitor. Every day he’s been on the ice he’s worked hard to get better. He’s eager, he’s keen, and when you have those qualities you know there’s going to be growth that comes with it.”
• The Rebels and Hitmen meet again Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the Innisfail Arena.
The Rebels conclude preseason play next week, meeting the Hurricanes Tuesday at Lethbridge, facing the Edmonton Oil Kings Friday at Lacombe and taking on the Medicine Hat Tigers 24 hours later at Stettler.
• Red Deer is ranked 10th in the CHL BMO Mastercard Top 10 preseason rankings released Thursday. The Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors are the top-ranked team, with three WHL clubs — the Portland Winterhawks, Tri-City Americans and Saskatoon Blades — ranked third, sixth and eighth.
gmeachem@reddeeradvocate.com
Flash forward two weeks and the Rebels coaching staff is hoping that they have a future Western Hockey League star in the Calgary product.
The 16-year-old goaltender basically secured the full-time back-up berth with his play through camp and the Black and White intrasquad game and looked stellar while blocking pucks through the second half of Wednesday’s preseason-opening 3-0 win over the Calgary Hitmen at Airdrie.
Pouliot, one of three goalies — 20-year-olds Darcy Kuemper and Kraymer Barnstable being the others — remaining on the Rebels roster, admitted Thursday that he didn’t expect to be at this point so soon.
“My goal this fall was just to make the Black and White game. I didn’t plan on signing or playing exhibition games,” he said. “My goal was to get as far as the Black and White game and anything else would be just extra.
“I have a lot of work to do from here and as long as I keep pushing I think I have a chance to stay. I have to keep developing and learning from the other guys.”
Pouliot stopped all 18 shots he faced Wednesday and appeared calm, cool and collected in the process.
“It was very nerve-wracking just getting in there, but eventually I kind of calmed down. I made that first save and everything kind of played out from there,” he said.
The fact that Pouliot was able to maintain his composure in his first-ever WHL contest was a testament to the training he received at the Goalie Development Institute in Calgary during the summer.
“I worked with a mental trainer, Shaun Smith, at GDI,” said the six-foot-one netminder.
“We worked on making sure I don’t get too up or down. Shaun really stressed the importance of staying level-headed and he probably helped me get this far.”
Pouliot, selected in the seventh round of the 2009 WHL bantam draft, enjoyed a strong season with the minor midget AAA Calgary Royals last winter and didn’t disappoint the Rebels scouts who caught him in action.
“Our scouts told us that he’d push for a spot here this year,” said Rebels head coach/vice-president of hockey operations Jesse Wallin.
“Until you see him yourself, it’s really hard to tell, but he certainly had a very good training camp and last night the screws tightened up a bit. He moved up to the next step, the preseason, and I thought he handled that really well. We’ll see he continues to progress.”
Wallin is confident that Pouliot has all the tools to progress into a capable and perhaps superior WHL goaltender.
“He’s got a lot of qualities that we like,” said Wallin. “(Rebels goalie coach) Brent Belecki has been very impressed with him in training camp and Bolton is a very mature young man, he carries himself very well. I think you can see that in his play. He plays with a lot of poise, a lot of confidence. He’s big and strong and moves well for a young guy.
“The biggest thing is he’s a leader and he competes. Through the rookie camp and into main camp you could hear him taking charge on the ice, you could hear him talking to his defencemen. He’s a take-charge kid and a real competitor. Every day he’s been on the ice he’s worked hard to get better. He’s eager, he’s keen, and when you have those qualities you know there’s going to be growth that comes with it.”
• The Rebels and Hitmen meet again Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the Innisfail Arena.
The Rebels conclude preseason play next week, meeting the Hurricanes Tuesday at Lethbridge, facing the Edmonton Oil Kings Friday at Lacombe and taking on the Medicine Hat Tigers 24 hours later at Stettler.
• Red Deer is ranked 10th in the CHL BMO Mastercard Top 10 preseason rankings released Thursday. The Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors are the top-ranked team, with three WHL clubs — the Portland Winterhawks, Tri-City Americans and Saskatoon Blades — ranked third, sixth and eighth.
gmeachem@reddeeradvocate.com
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