Émile Poirier

Émile Poirier
Born (1994-12-14) December 14, 1994
Montreal, QC, CAN
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
Position Right wing
Shoots Left
NHL team (P)
Cur. team		 Calgary Flames
Stockton Heat (AHL)
NHL Draft 22nd overall, 2013
Calgary Flames
Playing career 2014–present

Émile Poirier (born December 14, 1994) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He is currently a member of the Stockton Heat of the American Hockey League (AHL). He is a prospect of the Calgary Flames, selected in the first round, 22nd overall, at the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

A native of Montreal, Poirier began his junior hockey career with the Gatineau Olympiques of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) in 2011–12. He appeared in 67 games, scoring 15 goals and 40 points.[1] Previously unheralded, Poirier improved to 70 points in 65 games in 2012–13; he was the team's scoring leader, 16 points ahead of his nearest teammate.[2] He established himself as a top-40 prospect for the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. The NHL Central Scouting Bureau placed him 39th in their final pre-draft list, and Poirier moved higher in the projections with a standout performance in the playoffs; he had ten points in ten playoff games, including six "highlight reel" goals.[3]

Capable of playing at either the wing or at centre, Poirier is a fast skater, though he says his style is "not pretty".[4] Describing his playing style, Poirier stated: "I love to play hard. I compete, got to the net hard and fight a little bit, too. I want to bring energy."[5] He was invited to attend summer camp for the Canadian national junior team ahead of the 2014 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.[5] At the draft, Poirier was selected in the first round by the Calgary Flames, 22nd overall.[6]

Returning to Gatineau, Poirier had his best season as a junior in 2013–14.[7] He set career highs and led his team with 43 goals, 44 assists and 87 points to go along with a plus-minus rating of +30.[8] He also signed an entry-level contract with the Flames,[7] and joined Calgary's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Abbotsford Heat on an amateur try-out agreement after Gatineau was eliminated from the QMJHL playoffs.[9] Poirier scored a goal in his first professional game,[10] then added another to go with two assists in his second as the Heat prepared for the AHL playoffs.[11] Following the season, the Flames announced that Poirier had played the year with a bad shoulder that required surgery.[12]

Poirier missed the first month of the 2014–15 season while recovering. He was assigned to the AHL's Adirondack Flames when healthy and scored twice in his first game.[13] The 20-year-old forward scored 30 points in his first 42 games with Adirondack and was the youngest player in the AHL All-Star Game.[14] He was recalled to Calgary on February 23, 2015,[14] and made his NHL debut the following night in a 1–0 loss to the New York Rangers.[15] Poirier recorded his first NHL point with an assist on a goal by Mikael Backlund on March 3, 2015, against the Philadelphia Flyers.[16]

Career statistics

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2011–12 Gatineau Olympiques QMJHL 67 15 25 40 53 4 1 0 1 8
2012–13 Gatineau Olympiques QMJHL 65 32 38 70 101 10 6 4 10 14
2013–14 Gatineau Olympiques QMJHL 63 43 44 87 129 9 7 3 10 26
2013–14 Abbotsford Heat AHL 2 2 2 4 0 3 1 0 1 2
2014–15 Adirondack Flames AHL 55 19 23 42 50 — — — — —
2014–15 Calgary Flames NHL 6 0 1 1 0 — — — — —
NHL totals 6 0 1 1 0 — — — — —

References

  1. ↑ "Emile Poirier statistics". Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Retrieved 2013-07-01.
  2. ↑ Peterson, Torie (2013-07-01). "Numerology: Emile Poirier". Calgary Flames Hockey Club. Retrieved 2013-07-01.
  3. ↑ Campbell, Don (2013-06-26). "Olympiques star Poirier could be a surprise first-round pick". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved 2013-07-01.
  4. ↑ Mellas, Connor (2013-07-01). "Rebuilding Flames use first-rounders on forwards". National Hockey League. Retrieved 2013-07-01.
  5. 1 2 Sportak, Randy (2013-07-01). "Pressure on Poirier, Klimchuk". Calgary Sun. p. S5.
  6. ↑ Cruickshank, Scott (2013-07-01). "Picks boiled down to best players available". Calgary Herald. p. C1.
  7. 1 2 Vickers, Aaron (2014-02-25). "Poirier has future in mind during QMJHL playoffs". National Hockey League. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  8. ↑ "Skaters, 2013–14, Gatineau Olympiques". Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  9. ↑ Sportak, Randy (2014-04-18). "Heat welcome Flames picks". Calgary Sun. p. S11.
  10. ↑ "Youngsters Poirier and Carr star as Heat blank Rampage 3-0". Abbotsford News. 2014-04-19. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  11. ↑ "Poirier’s three points sees Heat finish AHL season with 4-3 win against Stars". Vancouver Sun. 2014-04-19. Retrieved 2014-04-20.
  12. ↑ Cruickshank, Scott (2014-06-06). "Flames kicking tires but won’t pay a high price to move up in NHL draft: Burke". Calgary Herald. Retrieved 2014-11-03.
  13. ↑ Nearhos, Diana C. (2014-11-01). "Emile Poirier shines in first game". Glens Falls Post-Star. Retrieved 2014-11-03.
  14. 1 2 Gilbertson, Wes (2015-02-24). "Poirier gets the call". Calgary Sun. p. S4.
  15. ↑ Sportak, Randy (2015-02-25). "Poirier solid in NHL debut". Calgary Sun. p. S2.
  16. ↑ Cruickshank, Scott (2015-03-04). "Flames survive lapses, top Flyers on Ramo's back". Calgary Herald. p. C1.

External links

Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Sean Monahan		 Calgary Flames' first round draft pick
2013 		Succeeded by
Morgan Klimchuk
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