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VANCOUVER — Tucker Poolman nearly had no hockey town to call home six years ago.
He was fresh out of East Grand Forks High School and on the hunt for a junior team. A couple of organizations near his home in Minnesota, and from neighbouring states North Dakota and Wisconsin, gave cursory looks, but made no grand gestures offering a place for him to hang his skates.
Poolman’s long-term plan to play college hockey seemed like a long shot at best, and the goal to one day earn a living in the game had fast become a figment of his imagination.