February 4, 2010 E-MAIL PRINT

Blazers deal Poulin, acquire Rooney

by Staff Report/

Goalie Mike Poulin was the first player drafted by the Blazers. (photo: National Lacrosse League)

Goalie Mike Poulin was the first player drafted by the Blazers. (photo: National Lacrosse League)

Reserve goaltender Mike Poulin, the answer to a Boston Blazers trivia question and a key member of the team in its inaugural season, was traded to the Calgary Roughnecks Tuesday for a first-round draft pick in 2011.

Poulin was the first player drafted by the Blazers, chosen No. 1 in the 2008 expansion draft from the Toronto Rock. Blazers coach Tom Ryan said the team felt that Poulin was capable of being a National Lacrosse League starter, and expected him to be the primary netminder during the expansion season. Shortly thereafter, however, the Chicago Shamrox folded and Boston was able to pick up All-Star Anthony Cosmo in the dispersal draft.

“Poulie understood and took it like a pro, but he always wanted an opportunity to start,” Ryan said.

During the Blazers’ first season, and early in the 2010 schedule, Poulin’s action was limited to occasionally replacing Cosmo, and being the starter in the second game of a two-game weekend. He started for the team against Philadelphia Jan. 16 the night after Cosmo played at Toronto.

That was the Blazers’ only two-game weekend this year, which meant Poulin was unlikely to see more than mop-up duty the rest of the season. Ryan also noted that for as good as Poulin has been, the coach’s preference would always be to start Cosmo, considered by many the best goalie in the league.

The deal brings value for Poulin and allows Nick Rose to  become the backup goaltender. Rose is considered a rising young star in the game, and the Blazers were the only team with three goalies on their active roster.

To fill the spot on the roster created by Poulin’s departure, Boston acquired veteran forward Jamie Rooney from the Rochester Knighthawks. As part of the deal, the K-hawks also sent their first-round pick in the 2010 draft to Boston in exchange for the Blazers’ first-round pick this year.

Rooney is in his third season in the league. He scored 20 goals and added 23 assists in 15 games for the Philadelphia Wings as a rookie in 2008, then provided three goals and an assist in one playoff game. In 2009, Rooney played the first 10 games for the New York Titans, pocketing seven goals and seven assists there, before being traded to Rochester, where he had 10 points in eight games, including the playoffs.

Rooney is a righthanded forward, a position at which the Blazers have been looking for help. The team has always carried just three righthanded forwards, captain and league MVP Dan Dawson, Matt Lyons, and Brendan Thenhaus. Lyons struggled in the early action this season, and was benched for the Jan. 30 game with Philadelphia, with rookie Ryan Hotaling moving from a transition role to play righthanded forward in that game. Rooney is expected to provide depth and competition on the offensive right side.

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