Poehling pride

MONTREAL - Four decades before his nephew Ryan Poehling was selected by the Habs at the 2017 NHL Draft, Stan Palmer had already heard his name called by the Canadiens.

That was back in 1977, when the former defenseman was entering his sophomore year playing for the University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs.
To this day, the now 60-year-old commercial real estate agent still recalls finding out that he'd gone in the 13th round, 177th overall to a Canadiens squad that had just hoisted the Stanley Cup for the 20th time in franchise history.
"I remember just being shocked and excited because they'd always been my favorite team. The thought of the possibility of playing for them was something special," said Palmer, who became a Habs fan while tuning into games on Hockey Night in Canada growing up in Bloomington, MN. "The tradition with the Canadiens was similar to what was developed at my high school, Bloomington Jefferson, where you just knew you were going to win when you played. At the time, I could probably name every guy on the team because they were so good."

After wrapping up his collegiate career in 1980, Palmer made his way to Montreal to take part in his one and only training camp experience with the Canadiens at the Montreal Forum.
"I remember being amazed, because as I would go into the rink to start suiting up, people would be gathering outside at certain doors just to look inside. There were evidently some doors where you could stand and see part of the ice," said Palmer, who sat in a stall next to Bob Gainey during his big club tryout. "All we really did was like a round-robin tournament, and I can still see Guy Lafleur coming down on me on a one-on-one and my knees started shaking. That had never happened to me before, but I did manage to force him wide into the boards, so it turned out OK."
Palmer didn't end up cracking the Canadiens' roster and was released before signing on with the Eastern Hockey League's Baltimore Clippers for the 1980-81 campaign. Then he hung up his skates and eventually got into coaching.
Fast forward to June 23, 2017,when Palmer was watching intently in his living room as his nephew Ryan's name was called 25th overall by Canadiens assistant general manager Trevor Timmins at the NHL Draft in Chicago.

Shortly thereafter, Palmer received a text message from his sister - Poehling's mother, Kris - that still makes him chuckle.
"Five or 10 minutes after he went up on stage, I got a text from Kris saying, 'What pick were you?,' shared Palmer with a laugh. "I wanted to go, 'Don't rub it in!' But I thought it was amazing. I couldn't have been happier for him."
Fortunately, Palmer resides just 75 miles away from St. Cloud State University where Ryan and his twin older brothers Nick and Jack are currently starring for the Huskies, so he's able to take in his share of home games at Herb Brooks Arena.
"It's just been a blast watching them grow. I also have the NCHC (National Collegiate Hockey Conference) Package on TV, so I can watch every game. I watch them every weekend. Ryan's mom was probably my biggest fan. She used to love to come to high school games and college games, so I wanted to watch them develop," said Palmer. "I still remember when they were in high school [playing for Lakeville North], it was so cool to hear, 'Goal by Poehling, and the assists go to this Poehling and the other Poehling.' It's been neat."
Palmer insists that Ryan's success - and the success of his brothers - is due in no small part to an innate passion for the game.

"I don't think you could go by their house when they were kids and not see them in the yard or in the driveway playing a game. All three of them, they had such commitment and such joy. That's just the way they were," said Palmer. "Ryan, though, has such great hockey sense. He was blessed with great athletic ability. He also played a number of other sports growing up, and I think he benefitted from that. I think he also benefitted from trying to keep up and tag along with Nick and Jack, too."
To say that Palmer is looking forward to the day when Ryan makes his NHL debut would be an understatement.
Palmer's son-in-law just happens to be veteran Minnesota Wild defenseman Ryan Suter, so seeing the pair go head-to-head at some point down the road is definitely on his radar.
"I can't wait to see it," concluded Palmer. "I'll be anxious to talk to Ryan [Poehling] about what it's like to play in the NHL."