Playing Career
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.
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 Kolzig 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.
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 Danny Briere 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. At the end of the season, he was nominated for the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy as the league's most sportsmanlike player, along with Pavel Datsyuk and Martin St. Louis; 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 extension (taking effect in 2009–10). His existing contract saw him make just over $1 million per season.
On October 13, 2010 his consecutive start streak of 335 games was broken due to the concussion he had received from Chicago Blackhawks defensemen Niklas Hjalmarsson (who was suspended two games for the illegal hit) in the previous game on October 11, 2010, when he was checked into the boards head first and then removed from the ice in a stretcher.
On October 6, 2011 in Helsinki, Finland he was named permanent Sabres captain. He is the 16th full time captain in Sabres team history.
During the 2012 NHL lockout, Pominville signed with Adler Mannheim.
Read more about this topic: Jason Pominville
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