Jason Pominville

Jason John Pominville (born November 30, 1982) is a Canadian-American former professional ice hockey right winger. He played for the Buffalo Sabres and the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Playing career

Amateur As a youth, Pominville played in the 1995 and 1996 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with minor ice hockey teams from Repentigny, Quebec and Rive-Nord.

Pominville played junior hockey for the Shawinigan Cataractes of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). In his fourth and final year with Shawinigan, 2001–02, he amassed 121 points in 66 games – seventh in league scoring – and was awarded the Frank J. Selke Memorial Trophy as the league's most gentlemanly player.

Professional

Buffalo Sabres (2003–2013) Pominville was drafted 55th overall in the second round by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2001 NHL entry draft. He played for the Sabres' minor league affiliate, the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League (AHL), until the 2005–06 season, when he earned a roster spot with Buffalo.

To begin the 2005–06 campaign, Pominville had initially been waived by the Sabres. Clearing waivers, he continued to play in the minors until he was called up a few months into the season. He scored his first NHL goal on November 27, 2005 – a powerplay goal against Olaf Kölzig in a 3–2 win against the Washington Capitals. Pominville quickly became an integral part of the Sabres line-up and finished the rest of the season with the Sabres with 18 goals in 57 games. In the 2006 playoffs, he recorded a hat-trick in Game 2 of the first round against the Philadelphia Flyers. Later in the Sabres' playoff run, he scored the series-clinching goal in the second round against the Ottawa Senators – a shorthanded effort in overtime of Game 5. It marked the first time in NHL history that a playoff series was decided by an overtime shorthanded goal. Buffalo announcer Rick Jeanneret marked this occasion with a call that is now famous in Buffalo hockey lore: "Oh, now do you believe? Now do you believe? These guys are good, scary good!" The Sabres had qualified as the fourth seed in the playoffs after failing to qualify the previous three seasons.

Pominville as the Sabres captain in February 2012. He had been named to the position the previous year on October 6, 2011. After improving to 68 points the following season, Pominville made a name for himself in 2007–08. He scored at nearly a point-per-game with 80 points in 82 games. In the absence of departed co-captains Chris Drury and Daniel Brière from the previous season, the Sabres utilized a rotating captaincy during the 2007–08 season; Pominville was named captain for the months of March and April. the honour was awarded to Datsyuk.

On September 18, 2008, the Sabres acknowledged Pominville's rise to prominence and signed him to a five-year, $26.5 million contract extension (taking effect in 2009–10). His existing contract saw him make just over $1 million per season.

On October 6, 2011, in Helsinki, Finland, Pominville was named permanent Sabres captain. He became the 16th full-time captain in Sabres team history. While captain of the Sabres, he filmed a video for the You Can Play campaign, which aims to reduce homophobia in sport.

With the lockout postponing the beginning of the 2012–13 season, Pominville signed his first European contract on a temporary basis with German club Adler Mannheim of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga on November 30, 2012. Pominville produced 12 points in just seven games for the Eagles before returning to prepare for the Sabres' season opener.

Minnesota Wild (2013–2017) With the Sabres enduring a largely unsuccessful season and with the intentions to revamp the roster, Pominville, along with a 2014 fourth-round pick, were traded to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for Johan Larsson, Matt Hackett, a 2013 first-round pick and 2014 second-round pick on April 3, 2013. With the Wild, Pominville recorded nine points in ten regular season games.

During the 2013–14 season, he scored 30 goals and 30 assists for 60 points to lead the Wild in scoring.

Return to Buffalo (2017–2019) On June 30, 2017, Pominville returned to the Sabres in a trade that sent him, Marco Scandella and a 2018 fourth-round pick to Buffalo in exchange for Tyler Ennis, Marcus Foligno and a 2018 third-round pick.

On November 1, 2018, Pominville played in his 1,000 career NHL game. He recorded a goal in a 4–2 loss to the Ottawa Senators. The next game, following a pregame ceremony by the Sabres to commemorate his milestone, Pominville recorded two goals and an assist in a 9–2 win over the Senators.

The Sabres did not renew Pominville's contract during the 2019 off-season. He spent the year in Buffalo, playing in beer leagues. In a June 2020 interview, it was stated that Pominville's playing career had ended.

Personal life Pominville is a dual citizen of Canada and the United States. His father, Jean-Marie, is a native of Montreal and his mother, Deborah (Van Lanen) Pominville, is a native of Green Bay, Wisconsin.

International play Because Pominville has dual citizenship, he was eligible to play for either the United States or Canada in international tournaments, and opted to play for Team USA.

Making his international debut, he chose to represent the United States at the 2008 World Championships and scored five points in seven games.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1998–99 Shawinigan Cataractes QMJHL 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 1999–00 Shawinigan Cataractes QMJHL 60 4 17 21 12 13 2 3 5 0 2000–01 Shawinigan Cataractes QMJHL 71 46 67 113 24 10 6 6 12 0 2001–02 Shawinigan Cataractes QMJHL 66 57 64 121 32 — — — — — 2002–03 Rochester Americans AHL 73 13 21 34 16 3 1 1 2 0 2003–04 Rochester Americans AHL 66 34 30 64 30 16 9 10 19 6 2003–04 Buffalo Sabres NHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2004–05 Rochester Americans AHL 82 30 38 68 43 — — — — — 2005–06 Rochester Americans AHL 18 19 7 26 11 — — — — — 2005–06 Buffalo Sabres NHL 57 18 12 30 22 18 5 5 10 8 2006–07 Buffalo Sabres NHL 82 34 34 68 30 16 4 6 10 0 2007–08 Buffalo Sabres NHL 82 27 53 80 20 — — — — — 2008–09 Buffalo Sabres NHL 82 20 46 66 18 — — — — — 2009–10 Buffalo Sabres NHL 82 24 38 62 22 6 2 2 4 2 2010–11 Buffalo Sabres NHL 73 22 30 52 15 5 1 3 4 2 2011–12 Buffalo Sabres NHL 82 30 43 73 12 — — — — — 2012–13 Adler Mannheim DEL 7 5 7 12 0 — — — — — 2012–13 Buffalo Sabres NHL 37 10 15 25 8 — — — — — 2012–13 Minnesota Wild NHL 10 4 5 9 0 2 0 0 0 0 2013–14 Minnesota Wild NHL 82 30 30 60 16 13 2 7 9 0 2014–15 Minnesota Wild NHL 82 18 36 54 8 10 3 3 6 0 2015–16 Minnesota Wild NHL 75 11 25 36 12 6 4 3 7 6 2016–17 Minnesota Wild NHL 78 13 34 47 4 5 0 1 1 0 2017–18 Buffalo Sabres NHL 82 16 18 34 8 — — — — — 2018–19 Buffalo Sabres NHL 73 16 15 31 4 — — — — — NHL totals 1,060 293 434 727 199 81 21 30 52 18

International Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 2008 United States WC 6th 7 2 3 5 0 Senior totals 7 2 3 5 0

Awards and honours Award Year QMJHL CHL Top Prospects Game 2001 QMJHL First All-Star Team 2002 CHL Third All-Star Team 2002 Frank J. Selke Memorial Trophy 2002 NHL All-Star Game 2012