Canadiens: Unlikely Call-Ups From The Trois-Rivieres Lions This Season

Sasha Pokulok

Had it not been for how his career started, Sasha Pokulok is a player I wouldn’t have looked twice at when browsing through the Lions roster, especially compared to some of the other callups from similar backgrounds. A long-time veteran of the LNAH over the last nine seasons, Pokulok actually started his career as an, albeit brief, top prospect within the Washington Capitals system, being a 14th overall pick of the team in the 2005 NHL Draft. A towering defenseman with offensive upside at 6’05 and 228 pounds, Pokulok won a Gold Medal with team Canada at the 2006 World Juniors yet was never given a fair shake with the Caps beyond one part-time season with the Hershey Bears in 2007-08, having dealt with numerous injury troubles.

After bouncing around the ECHL and spending two seasons overseas, Pokulok signed with the LNAH’s Cornwall River Kings in 2012 and hasn’t looked back, winning the league scoring title as a defenseman with 21-39-60 totals over 36 games in the 2019-20 season, earning the moniker “The Bobby Orr of the LNAH” in a March 2020 article by the Journal de Montreal. While it was expected he would never sniff the professional ranks again at 35 years old, the Lions gave Pokulok a shot on a deal earlier this year. Putting up an assist in his sole game, it marked a surprise return to the pros for this once top prospect.