Would he be a Montreal Canadiens supporter or cheer for his home-province Ottawa Senators? He chose the…Pittsburgh Penguins?
With Sidney Crosby, Jordan Staal and Evgeni Malkin current members of the Penguins, being a fan of the team from Steeltown is trendy. What was the appeal in the early-to-mid 1990s?
"I was a big (Mario) Lemieux fan so I followed him all the time." said Pouliot, a Franco-Ontarian. "When I was younger I could come to see the Sens play because it was a little bit closer and easier for us to get to, but I guess I was leaning more on the Habs side than the Sens side."
Nowadays Pouliot doesn't go to see either team play. Last Friday, he was in town to play with the Canadiens against the Senators at Scotiabank Place. Playing in the NHL is a long way from the time he spent with the junior B Clarence Creek Beavers.
"I played there when I was 16 or 15," Pouliot said with a recalling laugh. "That's a while back. It was good times. I only played a year there but it was good times."
From there it was a year in the Central Junior Hockey League, two more in the Ontario Hockey League with the Sudbury Wolves where he was drafted fourth overall into the NHL by the Minnesota Wild.
"Sometimes when you're in junior B or C you think that maybe you're not going to make it all the way. But I played a year of junior B and I played a year of junior A and went step-by-step and made it all the way up. You just can't quit," Pouliot said.
"Sudbury was really good and I learned from Mike Foligno the coach there. He pushed me a lot. Then I went to (Minnesota) and it was couple of tough years but since I moved from there to come (to Montreal) it's been very good."
Pouliot played sparingly with the Wild under head coach Jacques Lemaire and his defensive style, appearing in just 51 games between 2006-09. The rest of his time was spent in the American Hockey League with the Houston Aeros.
He played in 39 games with the Canadiens last season and his game at Scotiabank Place against the Senators last Friday was No. 45 of the season for No. 57, with his biggest fan at the majority of those.
"My mom's at every game in Montreal along with family and friends but in (Minnesota) they would come once every couple of months. When you have support like that it's awesome. You know someone's there watching you every game and there to cheer you on so it's good."
You know they were watching in Ottawa as well, given the proximity and all.
