Penguins believe defensive prospect Pouliot is ready for steady NHL workload

Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Johnston knows a thing or two about 20-year-old defenseman Derrick Pouliot after watching him develop while both were with the WHL's Portland Winterhawks.

As such, the club's new bench boss firmly believes Pouliot can step in and make an immediate and meaningful impact for the team this season.

“Yeah, I do. For sure,” Johnston told the Tribune-Review. "Not only his play in Portland, but the thing that convinced me the most was last year at the World Juniors. I really thought Derrick was the best defenseman in the tournament. If you can play at that level on the world stage, yeah, you're ready.”

Pouliot underwent shoulder surgery on May 21, and remains unsure if he'll be 100 percent by training camp. “That would be ideal, but we'll see if that happens or not,” he said. “We're still not sure when I'm going to be ready.”

Whenever he is back at full strength, Johnston appears set to use Pouliot in a variety of situations. 

“[Pouliot] has played a lot of minutes. He can play in every situation,” Johnston asserted. “People look at players like [Kris] Letang and Pouliot and say, ‘They're good offensively, but they're not good defenseman.' I think Pouliot is really smart defensively.”

Pouliot recorded 70 points (17 goals, 53 assists) in 58 games for Portland last season, and was named the Canadian Hockey League's Defenseman of the Year.