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FALMOUTH, Maine — Really, Jason Pominville says with a laugh, it’s not that big of a deal. Yes, his birth certificate says Repentigny, Quebec. Yes, his passport is Canadian. But it’s not as if he’s a traitor. He’s an American, too, and the United States did something his birth country didn’t do.
The United States came to him and said it really wanted him. That made the decision easy. Pominville is now and forever shall be part of USA Hockey, and he makes his debut tonight when the Americans face Sweden in a tuneup for the world championships.
To see the Buffalo Sabres right winger with Stars and Stripes on his chest in Portland’s Cumberland County Civic Center is something few would have imagined. He grew up in the Quebec junior leagues, learned French from his Francophone father and generally has been thought of as Canadian.
Pominville’s mother, however, is American. That grants him dual citizenship. When USA Hockey learned he was eligible for its program, it quickly reached out to the player who had 80 points this season and 61 goals over the past two.
“The biggest thing is I felt they wanted me,” Pominville said Saturday. “They wanted me to be here, and just that got me excited. I just hopped on board. It’s not as if I did anything wrong. I have the right to do it. I live in the U. S. now, playing for Buffalo. It was more about the opportunity that I was given.”
The United States came to him and said it really wanted him. That made the decision easy. Pominville is now and forever shall be part of USA Hockey, and he makes his debut tonight when the Americans face Sweden in a tuneup for the world championships.
To see the Buffalo Sabres right winger with Stars and Stripes on his chest in Portland’s Cumberland County Civic Center is something few would have imagined. He grew up in the Quebec junior leagues, learned French from his Francophone father and generally has been thought of as Canadian.
Pominville’s mother, however, is American. That grants him dual citizenship. When USA Hockey learned he was eligible for its program, it quickly reached out to the player who had 80 points this season and 61 goals over the past two.
“The biggest thing is I felt they wanted me,” Pominville said Saturday. “They wanted me to be here, and just that got me excited. I just hopped on board. It’s not as if I did anything wrong. I have the right to do it. I live in the U. S. now, playing for Buffalo. It was more about the opportunity that I was given.”
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