QMJHL: Tigres Poulin Hunting 2008 NHL Draft

The Victoriaville Tigres were recently in St. John's to play the Fog Devils. The Tigres dropped both games, as the Fog Devils picked up their first home series sweep of the season. Despite the outcome, Kevin Poulin and his fellow NHL draft-eligible teammates were on display for Les Tigres. McKeen's was on hand and files this report on each of the Tigres 2008 draft-eligible hopefuls.

Antoine Laperriere (2008), D, Victoriaville

Selected in the second round, 36th overall, in the 2006 QMJHL draft by Victoriaville .. the 6-foot-2, 171-pound rearguard hails from Rouyn-Noranda, QC .. started Game 1 with Joel Chouinard, but was paired on the second unit with Kirill Tulupov (NJ) throughout the game .. was paired with Tulupov in Game 2 .. played in all situations - regular shift, PP, PK, 4-on-4 .. an average skater .. was slow moving the puck on a number of occasions .. skated with his head down after a few strides .. skated with the puck in close to his body and had to search for the puck on more than one occasion .. inconsistent outlet passes .. forced passes and rushed his decisions with the puck .. gave the forwards too much room on the attack and failed to close the gap .. was involved offensively and looked comfortable doing so, but struggled overall defensively .. not overly physical, soft coverage at times .. finished the series with no points, a minus-four rating, two PIM's and four shots on goal.

Ryan Jasinsky (2008), RW, Victoriaville

The 6-foot-3, 185-pound right-winger is from Richmond, VA .. was a 2007 invitee to the Tigres training camp .. skated on the left wing in both contests on the fourth line with center Travis McIsaac and RW Kyle McNeil .. limited icetime in both games .. awkward looking skater, slow getting on top of the play .. has good size (height and weight), but lacks overall strength .. failed to display any offensive instincts .. caught reaching and stick checking on more than one occasion .. failed to keep his feet moving in both the offensive and defensive zones .. caught standing still way too much watching the play .. was involved in a fight with the Fog Devils Ryan Graham that totally changed the momentum of the first game in the Devils favour, as it was poor timing and decision-making by Jasinsky .. took an undisciplined penalty in Game 2 in the offensive zone .. finished the two-game set with no points, a minus-one rating, one shot on goal and seven PIM's.

Jonathan Bonneau (2008), LW, Victoriaville

Selected in the first round, fourth overall, in the 2007 Q-draft by the Tigres .. the 6-foot, 177-pound left-winger hails from Sherbrooke, QC .. skated on the first line in both games with C Keven Veilleux (Pit) and RW Alexandre Labonte .. played a regular shift, but never played on special teams .. skates well, displayed some speed .. demonstrated stickhandling ability .. moved the puck extremely well and passing ability was evident .. worked along the boards and down low, but played too much on the outside .. failed to compete and battle through traffic .. was not involved much offensively, although he did display some flashes with the puck .. never played a good game defensively, as he stops skating and moving his feet .. picked up a careless (lazy) four-minute high-sticking penalty in Game 1 .. finished the two-games with no points, a minus-three rating, four shots on goal and four PIM's.

Travis McIsaac (2008), LW, Victoriaville

The 6-foot, 172-pound left-winger hails from Charlottetown, PEI .. was selected in the sixth round, 104th overall, in the 2007 QMJHL draft by Victoriaville .. centered the fourth line between Ryan Jasinsky and Kyle McNeil in both games .. limited icetime, but did receive some powerplay time in Game 2 .. definitely a role player .. skates well, displayed some speed .. provided team with energy .. strong on the forecheck and backcheck in both games .. never provided much in the way of offense, but was not a liability defensively either .. involved in some scrums and seemed to get under the skin of the Fog Devils .. finished the series with no points, one shot on goal and won just four of the 16 faceoffs taken.

Maxime Gravel (2008), LW, Victoriaville

Selected in the third round, 54th overall, in the 2006 Q-draft by the Tigres .. the 5-foot-9, 170-pound LW hails from Vanier, QC .. was in the starting lineup for both games .. skated on the third line with C Philip-Michael Devos and RW David Cliche .. played a regular shift and was used extensively on the penalty kill but no powerplay time .. a smooth skater, skates low to the ice .. displayed some speed and ability to change direction quickly .. lacks size, but not smarts .. reads the play well and seems to have the ability to avoid hits and find open ice .. a strong penalty killer, extremely active on the PK, but in control .. was solid on the forecheck and looked to finish his checks on every opportunity .. was aggressive and provided the team with energy .. was solid in his play defensively with smart, positional hockey .. had a few chances offensively, but failed to take advantage .. was involved in scrums and was chirping with the Fog Devils players on a number of occasions, but did so without taking penalties .. finished the two-game series with no points, three shots on goal and threw a couple of big hits.

David Cliche (2008), C, Victoriaville

The 5-foot-11, 164-pound pivot is from Rouyn-Noranda, QC .. selected in the 13th round, 218th overall, in the 2006 Q-draft by Victoriaville .. was in the starting lineup for both games .. skated on the left wing on the third line with RW Maxime Gravel and C Philip-Michael Devos .. played a regular shift and was used on the penalty kill in both games .. a choppy skater with some speed .. moved the puck well .. strong positional play .. demonstrated a quick release, but does not possess an overly hard shot .. managed to forecheck well and angle players toward the boards extremely well .. was involved down low and along the boards .. worked hard to cycle the puck .. size worked against him on a few occasions .. knocked off the puck on a few occasions, but hustled to get back into position .. managed to find some open ice and get some shots away, but not a threat offensively .. was quick to close gaps on the penalty kill and had an active stick, which led to a few turnovers and forced passes .. finished the two-game set with no points, four shots on goal and won four of the 12 faceoffs that he was called upon to take.

Philip-Michael Devos (2008), C, Victoriaville

Selected in the second round, 21st overall, in the 2006 QMJHL draft by Victoriaville .. the 5-foot-11, 164-pound pivot hails from Sorel-Tracy, QC .. started both games and skated on the third line between RW Maxime Gravel and LW David Cliche .. played a regular shift and was used on the penalty kill .. a solid skater, strong on his skates and possesses a quick first step, but does not possess great speed .. skated and worked hard every shift, both in the attacking and defending zones .. displayed ability to pass the puck in stride and from a set position .. demonstrated his creative side on a few occasions .. puck protection skills are evident down low and while skating through the neutral zone .. solid positional play, heads-up-type-player .. made a couple of strong plays defensively to break-up potential scoring chances .. provided team with energy, but failed to create much in the way of offense .. a smart penalty killer - active stick and cut off passing lanes and shooting lanes, blocked a number of shots as well .. finished the series with no points, three shots on goal and won 11 of 24 faceoffs.

Joel Chouinard (2008), D, Victoriaville

The 6-foot-1, 187-pound rearguard hails from Longueuil, QC .. selected in the fourth round, 57th overall, in the 2006 Q-draft by Victoriaville .. started and was paired with Jason Demers in both contests on the Tigres first defense unit .. played in all situations and logged a significant amount of icetime as a result .. solid on his skates, not overly fast .. rushed too many decisions .. failed to make solid outlet passes on a consistent basis .. skates with his head up without the puck, but with the puck, he skates with his head down too much .. was slow moving the puck and failed to identify outlets, which led to bad decision-making .. seemed to be more relaxed in the offensive zone .. joined the rush and looked to skate with the puck on a regular basis .. was involved offensively and made some smart decisions with the puck in the attacking zone at even strength and on the powerplay .. demonstrated a better-than-average shot and ability to get shots through from the point .. was involved physically and tried played with an edge .. defensive coverage overall was not that bad, although some soft play at times led to taking penalties while trying to recover positioning .. failed to close gaps between attackers and was beat to the outside a few times throughout the games .. finished the two-game set with no points, a minus-two rating, six PIM's and seven shots on goal.

Kevin Poulin (2008), G, Victoriaville

Selected in the first round, third overall, in the 2006 QMJHL draft by Victoriaville .. the 6-foot-1, 202-pound goaltender hails from Montreal, QC .. Quebec has been a breeding ground for goaltenders and Poulin is no different .. did not start Game 1, but came on in relief at the 10:01 mark of the second period, surrendered three goals on 17 shots .. no chance on either goal in Game 1 .. started and took the loss in Game 2 and surrendered three goals on 30 shots .. a true butterfly-style goaltender .. quick up/down and side-to-side .. displayed a quick glove hand on a number of occasions .. active pads and strong coverage down low .. solid rebound control .. demonstrated great anticipation and ability to read and react to the play .. challenged shooters .. displayed second efforts and determination .. definitely battled and competed on every shot .. made some outstanding saves, which displayed both his athleticism and reflexes .. left crease to stop the puck before it crossed the icing line, but rarely played the puck up to his defenseman or forwards .. showed great discipline and composure, as several of the Fog Devil players were yapping at him throughout the games .. finished with a 0-1 record, surrendered six goals on 47 shots, (41 saves) and provided the Tigres with solid goaltending, just never got much support from his teammates.