'It Was Meant To Be': Longtime Friends Sam Poulin And Nathan Légaré Drafted By Pittsburgh Penguins
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- It turns out, the top two Penguins draft picks have an even more of a reason to be happy about being drafted by Pittsburgh.
The Pens drafted forward Samuel Poulin in round one on Friday and traded up early Saturday to take forward Nathan Legare. The team was pretty excited about the selections, but Pittsburgh soon found out the pair had been friends since seven years old.
"Friendship alert: Nathan Legare has known the Penguins 2019 first round selection, Samuel Poulin, since childhood!"
Friendship alert: Nathan Legare has known the Penguins 2019 first round selection, Samuel Poulin, since childhood! pic.twitter.com/cvNX5V13el
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) June 22, 2019
Poulin is a native of Laval, Quebec while Legare calls Montreal his hometown. The cities are right across the Prairies River from each other in Canada.
"Buddies since age 7."
Buddies since age 7. pic.twitter.com/OgD8oW0UtT
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) June 22, 2019
The longtime friends are getting great praise from the team scouts, who weighed in on Saturday towards the end of the draft.
"Penguins Amateur Scout Luc Gauthier on @poulin_sam and @Nathan_Legare: "They've got a lot of character. They're competitors… Our philosophy with the Penguins is to draft guys with character, with skill, and with speed. They've got those qualities."
Penguins Amateur Scout Luc Gauthier on @poulin_sam and @Nathan_Legare: "They've got a lot of character. They're competitors… Our philosophy with the Penguins is to draft guys with character, with skill, and with speed. They've got those qualities." pic.twitter.com/5kUF5cOG8d
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) June 22, 2019
All of the draft picks will be headed to Pittsburgh this week to participate in the Prospect Development Camp.
"I guess it was ment to be !!! Proud to be a @penguins @poulin_sam"
I guess it was ment to be !!! Proud to be a @penguins @poulin_sam pic.twitter.com/aPiGgR7I50
— Nathan Légaré (@Nathan_Legare) June 23, 2019