Earlier this summer, Penguins prospect Sam Poulin was playing in a tournament in Quebec City. He faced off against Felix Robert, his linemate from their junior team - the Sherbrooke Phoenix of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League - in one of the games.
Afterward, Robert stopped by Poulin's locker room to catch up since they hadn't gotten to see each other much up until that point. Turns out that he had some exciting news to share.
From the QMJHL to Pennsylvania
After tearing up the QMJHL together, Felix Robert has joined Sam Poulin in the Penguins organization
Penguins Podcasts: The Scoop
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Episode 33: The Scoop with Sam Poulin
"One of the things we talked about was his contract that was being negotiated with the Penguins," said Poulin, who was drafted by Pittsburgh in the first round (22nd overall) in 2019. "He told me don't tell anyone, but there's a lot going on with that and I'm speaking with my agents right now and everything.
"So, I kind of knew that something was going on. Then in the next week or two after that when I saw the news, I was just really excited and really happy for him."
Poulin, 19, immediately texted his buddy a congratulatory message after it was announced that Robert, 21, had signed an American Hockey League deal with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for next season after concluding an impressive junior career.
"I'm really excited to join the Penguins organization," Robert said. "It's been my dream since I was little. The fact that it's with the Penguins, I've been watching (Sidney) Crosby all of my childhood. It's fun to be part of the organization."
Interestingly enough, Sam wasn't the first Poulin to play on a line with Robert. That was actually his older brother Nicolas, 24, who also played for Sherbrooke from 2014-18.
In the 2016-17 season, Robert - who went undrafted in the QMJHL - was playing in a AAA hockey league in Quebec called the QCHL when he caught Sherbrooke's attention.
"My brother would just tell me that (Robert) was really good for a guy that was playing high school hockey or wherever it was that he was playing," Sam said. "It wasn't a big league, so Nicolas told me that Felix was invited for a few games if they needed players, and just told me he was seeing some really good potential in that guy."
The next year, Sam joined Nicolas and Felix - who ended up signing with the Phoenix as a free agent - in Sherbrooke, and began skating on their line.
"Right away we started playing together with my brother, and the chemistry just built up through the years," Sam said. "Then last year we had a tremendous year. Felix was a really big part of that success. I was really happy for him and happy for myself that he was joining the Pittsburgh organization."
Robert was named one of three finalists for the Michel Briere Trophy as QMJHL MVP, which ultimately went to Alexis Lafreniere, the projected first-overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft.
Robert led Sherbrooke with 56 assists and 92 points, which were both good enough for fourth-most in the entire QMJHL. Robert's career-high 36 goals also placed second on the Phoenix behind Alex-Olivier Voyer, the third member of their dynamic line, while Poulin ranked third on the team with 32 tallies.
Their success on the ice came from being, as Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan likes to say, hard to play against.
"The chemistry was there for sure," Robert said. "We were good skilled players, but we also worked our (butts) off. We were hitting bodies; we were trying to keep it simple. And we (played in all situations), power play and 5-on-5. We had fun. We were playing our best and we did everything every night against every team. We didn't give them a sniff every shift. That was our mentality. That was the whole team's mentality, too."
While Poulin is a power forward at 6-foot-1 and 208 pounds, Robert - who is 5-foot-8 and 174 pounds - describes himself as a 'small, energetic guy with smart hockey sense that plays all three zones well.'
"My goal for me is to stay in the AHL all season and become an important player on the team," Robert said. "I've been underrated all my career because I was not drafted in the QMJHL. Just make my place, make my spot. That's what I'm going to try to do when I report for camp in the AHL."
And while Robert would love to reunite on a line with Poulin, who signed a three-year entry-level contract with Pittsburgh last September, he's not sure that's going to happen anytime soon.
"Sammy is not just a talented, skilled guy," Robert said. "He's also a hardworking guy. He's always in the gym. He's a good leader. He was our captain. He was a good captain. He wanted to get better every day, and that's what is going to make him successful in the NHL. He is going to play in the NHL. For me, there is no doubt about it. He's strong, he's fast, he's skilled. He could play any role. Honestly, I don't know if I'm going to play with him in the AHL because I think he's going to have a spot in the NHL early in his career. He deserves it. He's working for it. He's going to achieve it."
One example of what made Poulin such a good leader is how he would regroup the team when they needed it.
"When the guys were not as invested and our heads were off the ice and everything, he would do something like ice cream on a Wednesday night or we would go play laser tag together," Robert said. "Just a little fun activity that regrouped the team. He's a good regrouper, a good leader."
And in those situations, Poulin could always count on Robert to help lighten the mood.
"The past couple years when he was in Sherbrooke he was staying like five minutes away from my billets, so a lot of times I would grab him or he would come and get me for practice and stuff like that, so we would ride together," Poulin said. "And as a person, he's a really nice kid. He laughs a lot, he likes to make jokes and he's always smiling. I think he's going to be a great addition to the organization."
