Young winger Sam Poulin approaches crossroads with Penguins

At this stage in his career, the word “prospect” feels somewhat ill-suited to describe Sam Poulin.

The Pittsburgh Penguins winger has only appeared in six career NHL contests, and he is just 23 years old.

But he has played parts of three seasons as a professional, and over that span, Poulin, the Penguins’ first-round (No. 19 overall) draft pick in 2019, has yet to crack the NHL roster and stay there.

Extenuating circumstances, namely injuries as well as a multi-month break from hockey in 2022-23 to prioritize his mental health, have played a role.

Now, for a number of reasons, Poulin is operating with a heightened sense of urgency compared to prior years as he approaches a crossroads with the Penguins.

“My mindset is to make the team, nothing else,” Poulin said. “I’ve done a couple camps now, so I know what to expect and I know what to bring. This camp, that’s my only goal, make the team and go from there.”

Poulin no longer can be reassigned to the American Hockey League without first being subjected to waivers.

Were Poulin to be cut from the Penguins’ camp roster and placed on waivers, the 31 other NHL clubs would have an opportunity to claim him before he could join Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Given Poulin’s pedigree, it’s easy to imagine another team thinking that a former first-round draft pick might benefit from a change of scenery.

Thus, a realistic outcome for Poulin by the conclusion of the preseason is his time with the Penguins coming to an end.

As he stares down a multitude of possibilities, Poulin grasps that the margin for error in practices and games is thin.

“Coming in as a young guy, I don’t have the luxury of making turnovers and still going back for another shift,” Poulin said. “I need to be able to be reliable to gain the coaches’ trust. I think that’s the main area of focus for me for now.”

Poulin spent the majority of last season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

When he was healthy, Poulin was productive, contributing 16 goals and 15 assists in 41 games.

Ill-timed injuries prevented the Penguins from calling him up at multiple points last season.

As this preseason has progressed, coach Mike Sullivan is pleased with the physical conditioning Poulin has displayed.

“I think he’s come into camp in great shape,” Sullivan said. “I think he’s picked up a step, speed-wise, for sure, which for me is noticeable in the games and practices.”

However, there are aspects of Poulin’s game in which Sullivan wants to see growth.

“I think with Sam, it’s about establishing a conscientious game — making sure that he knows where he’s supposed to be positionally,” Sullivan said. “It’s about winning puck battles, being on the right side of the puck in certain situations and making good decisions, with and without the puck.

“Such an important element of the game is just your ability to process the game and make good decisions so that you put yourself and your teammates in advantageous positions.”

In Thursday’s preseason game at Columbus, he centered the Penguins’ third line along with Emil Bemstrom and Corey Andonovski. Poulin skated 14 minutes, 28 seconds and finished with two shots and a hit in a 3-1 win at Nationwide Arena. He has yet to record a point in the preseason.

Poulin has, however, managed to stick out in one regard: penalty minutes, leading all Penguins players with 20 this preseason.

After committing a pair of minor infractions during his first preseason game Sept. 24 against the Buffalo Sabres, Poulin racked up an obscene 16 five days later vs. the Ottawa Senators.

The penalty breakdown that evening for Poulin was one minor for tripping, a double-minor for roughing and then a 10-minute misconduct.

As a player fighting for a roster spot, Poulin would have been better off putting together a preseason in the same vein as Jesse Puljujarvi, who managed a hat trick on Sept. 21 and has five points in three games.

Additionally, in contrast to the last two years, Poulin arrived at training camp lower on the organization’s list of most promising prospects.

While still in that conversation, newer additions to the system such as fellow forwards Vasily Ponomarev, Rutger McGroarty and Ville Koivunen plus defenseman Harrison Brunicke may have usurped him as apples of management’s eyes.

Regardless of circumstances and an unremarkable preseason, if there’s one thing Poulin does not lack, it’s conviction.

“I think (I’ve taken) a step in my confidence and just my consistency,” Poulin said. “In the past, I’d play a good game, a decent game and a bad game and I didn’t have any consistency. I think last year, I just worked a lot on that to make sure, whether I felt good or not, to bring my best game every night.”

That said, the reality for Poulin and plenty of other players at camp is that the preseason is winding down and soon, Sullivan will be forced to make tough decisions regarding who makes the club.

“I’m stating the obvious that there’s less and less exhibition games, and by nature of that, there’s less opportunities for players to make an impression on the group and do their very best to make the roster,” Sullivan said. “These guys are all competing hard. They’re all competitive guys. I think they all get it — it’s a competitive training camp.”