Wranglers blueliner Jeremie Poirier reflects on losing road roommate Jakob Pelletier to mid-season trade

Jeremie Poirier and Jakob Pelletier were the most some of the most energetic guys around the Calgary Wranglers the last few seasons. They both kept things light and fun and were the most hyped up after a big win. The bond these two developed over the last couple of seasons went beyond the ice and into struggles of injury. When the time came that Pelletier was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers mid-season, Poirier was one of the players directly affected.

Poirier and Pelletier only have a year between them in age and professional hockey experience. Pelletier started his career with the Stockton Heat in the 2021-22 season and Poirier started his career with the Calgary Wranglers in the 2022-23 season. They were both a part of the Dustin Wolf era in the AHL and both contributed to the Pacific Division and regular season league titles they won in 2022-23 for being the league’s winningest team. 

For road games, these two also roomed together and further developed their friendship. Poirier said:

“Pelts has been my roommate for a year and a half on the road. He’s someone I was super close to. Both French too, so it’s cool sometimes to have somebody around and we have the same personality a little bit. We both don’t like when things are tense or stressed out.”

In the 2023-24 season, Poirier and Pelletier ended up having another thing in common that they couldn’t have predicted: long-term injuries. Pelletier suffered an upper-body injury prior to the start of the season that kept him out until early 2024. Poirier suffered a skate laceration to his forearm early in the year on Oct. 21 that kept him out of the lineup for over four months while he recovered. 

When these two reflected on their season at the end of their Wrangler playoff campaign in 2024, the story was pretty similar. Being away from the team and isolated to your own recovery is a challenging mental feat. While Pelletier was able to play video games in his downtime, Poirier was trying to do normal day to day tasks with just one working arm. 

Poirier said after that season in 2024:

“For me it was go to the rink by yourself. Do your rehab by yourself. Go home, sit on your couch by yourself. With one hand. You couldn’t do anything. It was a challenging year mentally obviously, just to spend that much time alone.”

Poirier ended up playing 23 games with the Wranglers in the 2023-24 season and Pelletier played 18 games with the AHL affiliate. They both contributed in the Calder Cup playoffs, putting up points and building confidence for those six games in the postseason. In 2024-25, these two got 20 games together on the Wranglers before Pelletier made his jump to the Flames and kept himself up at the NHL level.

Poirier said in his exit interviews at the end of the Wranglers’ season this year:

“Yes, it was a little difficult to lose Pelts mid-season, but I’m glad he got to a good spot in Philly. He found a little success at the end of the year, so I’m pretty happy for him.”

Poirier continued:

“Even when Pelts was up with the big team, with the Flames, people really seemed to enjoy his presence. He’s not the type of guy you can really hate. Always got a smile on his face. Always ready to cheer on some teammates and friends.”

Pelletier was a piece of the deal that brought Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee to Calgary on Jan. 30. Pelletier was playing for the Flames the night this trade happened and was pulled from the game after the first period to be delivered the news. By the time the Flames finished their game that night, Pelletier’s locker was empty. 

Pelletier ended up playing 25 games for the Flyers between February and April and put up eight points with the Flyers. Like Poirier said, Pelletier started to have success later in the season. Specifically, between Mar. 25 and Apr. 12, where he had six points in seven games.