Ryan Poehling

July 2023 – Poehling signed a one-year, $1.4 million contract with the Philadelphia Flyers after one season with the Pittsburgh Penguins, where he played 53 games and recorded 14 points (seven goals and seven assists). Mark Henry

July 2022 – The Poehling saga has officially ended in Montreal, as he has been packaged in a deal that sent both Jeff Petry and himself to the Pittsburgh Penguins. He will battle for a bottom-six role and look to rejuvenate his pro career. Dave Hall

May 2022 – Poehling had a forgettable NHL season in 2021-22. This is, however, a positive progression from 2019-20, when he consistently looked lost and struggled to ever make an impact. This season, Poehling demonstrated his strengths (physicality, skating, release) along with much inconsistency, both in terms of production and overall play. His overall impact was not a positive one, and he has a long way to go before he can become an impactful bottom-six forward. His offence is streaky, but when he’s on, he’s fun to watch in the offensive zone; when confident, he can lower the shoulder with the puck and force his way to the lower slot, he can change passing angles to make cross-crease passes, and he skates with a purpose. When he isn’t that confident, he is a non-factor, period. His two-way game may have been praised throughout his career, but his defensive impact at the NHL level has yet to be good. He can be quite stagnant defensively, lacking the aggressiveness you want from an effective F1, and he can miss reads in his own zone, leading him to get caught out of possession. This is not to say he can’t grow into a good defensive player, but he does not fulfill the role of defensively-sound fourth-line centerman just yet. His nine goals and 17 points in 57 games represented good production for a fourth-liner, and his face-off ability improved throughout the year. Most promising, however, is the progress Poehling made between training camp and the middle of the season. He went from being behind on every single play to embracing his skating talent and increasing his work rate, which both enabled him to have an increased impact. With a comprehensive development plan, Poehling could still develop into a valuable bottom-six piece, but it seems more likely as of now that he will peak as a valuable fourth-liner who can play on occasions as a game-in, game-out third-line center. Sebastian High

September 2021 – Poehling had a strong bounce-back campaign for the Laval Rocket last season scoring 25 points in 28 games as well as being a strong 200-foot player. He will have a strong chance to make the Canadiens out of camp, especially with their lack of center depth, however, it is far from a guarantee. Pablo Ruiz

July 2021 – After a difficult first-year pro, Poehling had a great bounce-back campaign in Laval. He scored 25 points in 28 games before injuring his wrist and being forced to miss the rest of the season. Next year he will have a good opportunity to make the Canadiens lineup out of camp because of his strong shot and his two-way intelligence. If he is sent back to the AHL he will be their most used center and one of the first call ups when injuries occur. Pablo Ruiz

March 2020 – Poehling has split his first professional year between the NHL and the AHL. He has struggled to produce in both leagues putting up 13 points in 36 AHL games and an unimpressive 2 points in 27 NHL games. Outside of his production issues in the NHL Poehling has not been a liability on the ice, he has a 50.1 CF% being on the ice for almost the exact amount of shot attempts for and against. 

In the AHL he has had offensive flashes as he put up 4 game point streak early in the season, as well as 6 points in the 5 games leading up to his 2nd call-up. However, this is where there is cause for concern, in the rest of the games this season he has 4 points in 27 games. He has most recently been playing top 6 minutes for the Rockets. In a recent interview with La Presse, Montreal general manager Marc Bergevin said that the organization does not view Ryan Poehling has a future potential top-6 center. Pablo Ruiz

April 2019 – Poehling certainly garnered a lot of attention following a stellar performance at the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship this year. He led all North American skaters with five goals and eight points in seven games. Poehling made another huge splash playing in the final game for the Montreal Canadiens this campaign. In his NHL debut, he scored a hat trick followed by a goal in the shootout. Keep him on your fantasy radar as there is a lot to be excited about regarding the Habs’ future forward. Jesse Sherman

June 2018 – Poehling had himself a terrific sophomore season. He became a leader for St. Cloud State, dominating the NCAA at even-strength, and represented the USA at the World Junior Championships. Still very young and raw, Poehling will continue to develop at the college level and look to become stronger and more explosive before the option to turn pro presents itself at seasons end. He is well on the path to becoming the big center the Canadiens have been sorely lacking for seemingly forever. Mike Barrett

May 2017 – As a 17-year-old playing NCAA hockey at St. Cloud State with his two older brothers against much older players, Poehling acquitted himself well but saw limited ice time. He bookended his decent rookie NCAA season with two strong international showings with USA at the Hlinka and U-18 tournaments against the elite players in his own age group and was excellent.

Poehling is a versatile forward; a play a two way game and has a well-balanced game. He is a good skater with quick acceleration, has good size and is strong on the puck. He has offensive vision and can make plays as well as bury scoring chances. A well rounded player that does everything well, but isn’t great at anything.  Peter Harling