Born	November 30, 1982 (1982-11-30) (age 27), Repentigny, QC, CAN
Height Weight	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 186 lb (84 kg; 13 st 4 lb)
Position	Right Wing
Shoots	Right
NHL team	Buffalo Sabres
Ntl. team	United States
NHL Draft	55th overall, 2001 Buffalo Sabres
Pro career	2002 – present

Jason John Pominville^[1] (born November 30, 1982) is a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger who currently plays for the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Contents 1 Playing career 2 International play 3 Awards 4 Career statistics 4.1 International statistics 5 References 6 External links

[edit] 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 couple of months into the season.^[2] 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.^[3] 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.^[4] 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.^[5] It marked the first time in NHL history that a playoff series was decided by an overtime shorthanded goal.^{[citation needed]} 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!"^{[citation needed]} 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.^[2] 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;^[6] 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.^[2]

[edit] International play

Since Pominville has dual citizenship, he was eligible to play for either the United States or Canada in international tournaments. He is a dual citizen as a result of his mother being American (as in the cases of Brett Hull, Adam Deadmarsh and Brady Murray) but was born and raised in Canada.

Making his international debut, he chose to represent the United States at the 2008 World Championships and scored 5 points in 7 games.^[7]

[edit] Awards

• QMJHL First All-Star Team - 2002^[8]
• Frank J. Selke Memorial Trophy (QMJHL's most gentlemanly player) - 2002

[edit] Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1998–99	Shawinigan Cataractes	QMJHL		2	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
1999–00	Shawinigan Cataractes	QMJHL		60	4	17	21	12		13	2	3	5	0
2000–01	Shawinigan Cataractes	QMJHL		71	46	67	113	24		10	6	6	12	0
2001–02	Shawinigan Cataractes	QMJHL		66	57	64	121	32		—	—	—	—	—
2002–03	Rochester Americans	AHL		73	13	21	34	16		3	1	1	2	0
2003–04	Rochester Americans	AHL		66	34	30	64	30		16	9	10	19	6
2003–04	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		1	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
2004–05	Rochester Americans	AHL		82	30	38	68	43		—	—	—	—	—
2005–06	Rochester Americans	AHL		18	19	7	26	11		—	—	—	—	—
2005–06	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		57	18	12	30	22		18	5	5	10	8
2006–07	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		82	34	34	68	30		16	4	6	10	0
2007–08	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		82	27	53	80	20		—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		82	20	46	66	18		—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				304	99	145	244	90		34	9	11	20	8

[edit] International statistics

Year	Event		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2008	WC		7	2	3	5	0
Senior Int'l Totals			7	2	3	5	0

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Jason Pominville - Sabres.com
• Jason Pominville's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
• Jason Pominville @ nhlpa.com

Preceded by Jochen Hecht

Buffalo Sabres captains March & April 2008

Succeeded by Craig Rivet