Jason Pominville Jason John Pominville ( born November 30 , 1982 ) is a Canadian - American professional ice hockey right winger and the captain of the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League ( NHL ) . 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 few months into the season . 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 . 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 . 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 . It marked the first time in NHL history that a playoff series was decided by an overtime shorthanded goal . 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 ! " 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 . 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 ; 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 . On October 13 , 2010 his consecutive start streak of 335 games was broken due to the concussion he had received from Chicago Blackhawks defensemen Niklas Hjalmarsson ( who was suspended two games for the illegal hit ) in the previous game on October 11 , 2010 , when he was checked into the boards head first and then removed from the ice in a stretcher . On October 6 , 2011 in Helsinki , Finland he was named permanent Sabres Captain . He is the 13th full time captain in Sabres team history . 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 father being Canadian and his mother being American ( as in the cases of Brett Hull , Adam Deadmarsh and Brady Murray ) but was born and raised in Canada . Pominville resides year - round in East Amherst , New York . Making his international debut , he chose to represent the United States at the 2008 World Championships and scored 5 points in 7 games .