A decade after getting cut from junior teams, Tucker Poolman signs $10-million deal with Vancouver
Jul. 28—Ten years ago this summer, Tucker Poolman drove across the Midwest with his father, Mark, hoping to find a junior hockey team.
Poolman had just graduated from East Grand Forks Senior High and didn't have a lot of options. United States Hockey League teams weren't interested and North American Hockey League teams continued to turn him away, too. One, in fact, told him not to even waste the time or money to attend their tryout camp out of a courtesy, because he had no shot at making the roster.
Poolman had applied to attend UND strictly as a student and was on the verge of moving on from hockey when the Wichita Falls Wildcats of the NAHL offered him a roster spot.
Poolman took the offer, launching an uncommon ascent from Wichita Falls to the USHL to UND to the NHL.
Now, on the 10-year anniversary of that fateful summer where he was close to moving on from the sport, Poolman has signed a four-year, $10-milion deal with the Vancouver Canucks.
The contract was first reported by Frank Seravalli of The Daily Faceoff on Wednesday morning as the NHL's free-agency period opened.
It will be a new home for the 28-year-old Poolman, who has been with the Winnipeg Jets since turning pro in 2017. He played 39 regular-season games last season, registering one assist. In the playoffs, he suited up for all eight games, scoring one goal and two points as the Jets swept Edmonton in the first round and got swept by Montreal in the conference semifinals.
In all, Poolman has played 120 regular-season NHL games and 14 playoff games for Winnipeg.
In Vancouver, Poolman will be reunited with Brock Boeser. They won an NCAA national championship as UND teammates in 2016.
Poolman played three seasons with Senior High from 2008-11. As a senior, he had 22 points in 23 games from the blue line.
He took off in Wichita Falls, tallying seven goals and 29 points in 59 games, attracting the interest of USHL teams. Poolman landed in Omaha and had immediate success, drawing an offer from UND.
Poolman spent a second year in Omaha, earning USA Hockey's Junior Player of the Year award.
At UND, Poolman showed his versatility by playing both forward and defense as a rookie. As a sophomore, he moved strictly to defense and was a key cog in the Fighting Hawks' NCAA national championship team.
Poolman came back for his junior year, earning All-American honors.
Poolman earned his undergraduate degree in three years and signed with Winnipeg, which drafted him in the fifth round in 2013.
Poolman's last contract — three years, $2.325 million — expired this spring and he became an unrestricted free agent.
The Canucks have been remaking their defensive core this offseason, adding Oliver Ekman-Larsson in a trade with Arizona and signing Luke Schenn as a free agent from Tampa Bay.
Vancouver finished in last place in the North Division last season.
