One of the two newest Calgary Flames has earned some hardware from his final collegiate season. Blueliner Colton Poolman – officially signed by the Flames last week – has been named the National Collegiate Hockey Conference’s Defensive Defenseman of the Year.
From the NCHC’s announcement:
Poolman (East Grand Forks, Minn.) followed in his brother’s footsteps in capturing NCHC Defensive Defenseman of the Year. The newest member of the Calgary Flames, who signed on Friday and is now an NHL rival with Tucker of the Winnipeg Jets, earned Honorable Mention All-NCHC for the third straight season this year. The two-time UND captain played in 21 conference games this season, blocking 26 shots while posting a +9 plus/minus. He committed only one minor penalty in conference play all season, while helping North Dakota to a NCHC-best 2.04 goals against per game facing NCHC foes. Poolman also anchored a penalty kill unit that finished first in NCHC play with an 86.9 percent kill rate. Offensively, he chipped in 10 points (2g, 8a) in conference games and led the Fighting Hawks to the Penrose Cup as regular-season champions.
Poolman signed a two year entry level deal with the Flames last week. As noted, he’s a two-way defender with a reputation for being hard to play against. He was the shutdown defender for his conference’s top team in the regular season.
