Tucker Poolman was thought to be an afterthought when the Jets drafted him with the 127th pick in the 2013 draft. Having already committed to the University of North Dakota for the fall season of that year and for the foreseeable future, nobody was paying much attention to him. Until last year, when he was a part of the team that captured the university's first NCAA championship in sixteen years.
Stats
Poolman was able to increase his point totals from the previous year and his penalty minutes dropped as well.
Thoughts From Other AIH Authors
Truck
Poolman is a big dude with a pile of tools, but he doesn't produce as one would expect. The tools will likely be enough toearn him an NHL contract, but I am skeptical about his upside.
Arby
Another right-hand d-man in a system full of them, Poolman has some size and some winning pedigree thanks to his UND team winning it all last year. Having said that, he's a guy who isn't producing much on a good team in the NCAA, so his upside may not be that high after all. Will be interesting to see what he does after one more year in college, as he could go the Vesey route next August if he so chooses.
Andy
Poolman is another work in progress in the US college hockey program for UND. Poolman lead his team to the frozen 4 championship, and rather than capitalize on the opportunity to sign an entry level deal with the Jets like Connor and Roslovic did, Poolman elected to stay with UND for another year atleast. the 6'2" defensemen shoots right, which the Jets seem to have a glut of, so he would sooner know he can get his consistent playing time in college hockey rather than bounce around the AHL and whatever junior club has his rights.
Brian
North Dakota's NCAA Championship has absoutely skyrocketed Poolman's value. I think it was me who described him as a "poor, poor man's Byfuglien" for his ability to play forward and defense. Despite being a fan of his game, it's time to temper the expectations. His ceiling isn't as high as some will say. He'll presumably be making his pro debut at 24, which is towards the end of his development curve. However he comes in won't be too far off than the final prospect. Long term, I see him with the Moose.
Summary
Poolman finally cracked the list but I don't know if we'll ever see him on it again. He unfortunately with an organization that has a surplus of right hand defenseman who are all signed long term. Besides that, his ceiling is a seventh defenseman at the most and it's even a stretch to say he has a good chance at reaching that. The Jets already have a right handed defensman in that role right now and it's not working out too well for him. I won't be surprised if Poolman jumps ship to another organization if he believes he has an honest shot at playing in the NHL.
What are your thoughts on Tucker Poolman? Let us know in the comment section below!
