Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins: Colton Poolman On College, Trades, and Career
On a Wednesday evening, after a contest against the Hershey Bears, Colton Poolman sat down with Olde City Sports Network to speak on his career, college, and being a defenseman!
Before turning professional, Poolman spent four years at the University of North Dakota. He dressed in 146 games and tallied 18 goals with 57 assists. Poolman held the “C” during his final year at the University of North Dakota and touched on what helped him transition to the professional level. “The time management side of it. It's nice to kind of spread your day apart and kind of forget about hockey for a little bit, because you have school to go to. I think that carries into all aspects of life.”
Being on three different teams throughout a young career, players are always bound to learn something different from each team. Poolman has played for the Stockton Heat, the former AHL affiliate of the Calgary Flames, the Calgary Wranglers, the Rochester Americans, and now the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. “Calgary was the first one to teach you how to be a pro and to live a different lifestyle. It's much more focused on hockey than it was at school. It's your job. Starting in Stockton was a change of pace and something you have to adapt to, and then totally different coming from the west to the east, different coaches. Rochester was an awesome new learning experience to meet new people, new coaches, new ways of thinking, playing, and the same thing here. It's just been a great learning experience overall.”
On January 3rd, 2025, Poolman was acquired in a trade from Rochester for forward Bennett MacArthur. He spoke on the day of the trade and left that day to come down into Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. “I was, you know, just going about it as normal, and got a phone call and said, you're traded and stuff, it's crazy. It's a big whirlwind, you don't really know what to think, what to do, you don’t wanna say goodbye to your friends, and then you're anxious to meet new friends, so it's all a big emotional kind of roller coaster, so you just try to stay calm.”
Every player has strengths in their game that they play to and add to their team. Poolman hits on what he believes his strengths on the ice are. “I try to play defense first, that goes without saying, but just try to move the pucks as quickly as I can get in the hands of my forwards. trying to have a good stick, read with the play is, try to have good anticipatory skills, and try to rely on some of my experience now, just to read plays and kill plays quickly.”
Being a defenseman means a player sees most of the ice during the game and play. A lot of times, when the blue liners are on the ice, they face strong offensive players, and have to be quick to think about how they will protect the net. “I think you just gotta know who you're out on the ice with. If you see some, maybe you gotta give him some space, like, hey, this guy can really do stuff here. You just have to be aware, you don't try to give him too much respect. I gotta dial in for this one, focus up, and not to be too anxious and nervous.”
Every player hits the off-season and trains for the next season ahead. Whether it be a strict routine, working on skills to strengthen, or hitting the gym to gain strength. “It differs every summer here. I've tried to tone down and work more on maintenance-type stuff. I just try to make sure my body's feeling good. I do strength training, of course, cardio, and being on the ice, but it's more about kind of resting and relaxing the body in the mind than going too hard anymore.”
Poolman played in five games for the Rochester Americans and tallied one assist. After coming to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, he dressed in 15 games and gathered one goal with three assists.
- Samantha Wismer/Olde City Sports Network
- Photo Credit: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins