VANCOUVER - The Vancouver Canucks have acquired defenceman Derrick Pouliot from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for defenceman Andrey Pedan and a fourth-round selection in the 2018 NHL draft.
The Canucks hope the 23-year-old Pouliot will reach his potential under new head coach Travis Green after the Estevan, Sask., native failed to catch on in Pittsburgh.
The Penguins drafted the six-foot, 208-pound Pouliot eighth overall in the 2012 draft with a pick they received from Carolina in the trade that sent forward Jordan Staal to the Hurricanes. But Pouliot appeared in just 67 games over three seasons in Pittsburgh, posting two goals and 12 assists with a defensive rating of minus-11.
Pouliot was a star in junior with the Western Hockey League's Portland Winterhawks, where Green was an assistant coach.
He helped the team capture the WHL championship in 2013 with 20 points (four goals, 16 assists) in 21 playoff games and was named the CHL defenceman of the year in 2014.
Pedan, a Lithuania-born defenceman, had no points and 18 penalty minutes in 13 games with Vancouver in 2015-16. The six-foot-five, 213-pound Pedan played 52 games for the AHL's Utica Comets last season, registering five goals, five assists and 100 penalty minutes.
