Marc-Antoine Pouliot -photo by Jonathan Kozub

Edmonton Oilers centre Marc-Antoine Pouliot has been named the Most Valuable Player of the American Hockey Leagues Hamilton Bulldogs.

Pouliot, the Oilers first choice, 22nd overall, in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, was given the honour following a vote of his Hamilton teammates. It was one of two awards that the first-year centreman won as he was also named the Bulldogs Top Rookie by the Hamilton broadcast team.

Click here to view Pouliot's career statistics

Pouliot, who was recalled to Edmonton on March 13th, played 65 games for Hamilton in his rookie season, scoring 15-30-45 with 64 penalty minutes. Among his 15 goals are five powerplay goals and one shorthanded tally. The 45 points rank Pouliot second on the Bulldogs scoring list and he is also second in assists, sixth in powerplay goals and seventh in goals.

Since being recalled to the Oilers, Pouliot has played in seven games and has scored one goal and is +1. He netted his first career NHL goal in the Oilers 7-1 win versus the Phoenix Coyotes on April 3rd, beating Curtis Joseph for the games first goal at 3:30 of the opening period.