Jeremie Poirier should have been one of the many NHL debuts we saw in the 2023-24 season. Unfortunately for him, off-season surgery, health setbacks through training camp and a devastating skate laceration injury early in the AHL season, robbed him of most of his season. He wasn’t able to return to play until March of 2024, but was still able to contribute to the Wranglers’ playoff run.

Hopefully, he can get back on track and have much better luck staying healthy this season.

Historical performance

Jeremie Poirier made his professional debut with the Wranglers in 2022-23 and played in 69 games with the team. He put up outstanding numbers from the blue line with nine goals and 32 assists for a total of 41 points his rookie year. That pace continued into playoffs where he had eight points in Calgary’s nine game run.

In 2023-24, Poirier took a back seat to rookie camp and parts of training camp. He revealed at the end of last season that he had off-season surgery then when he came back to Calgary, his appendix burst and he was unable to go right back into hockey. If that wasn’t enough, he also suffered a skate laceration injury to his arm just four games into the season.

Before that injury, his first trio of games all consisted of multi-point performances. Poirier was left to recover mostly in isolation from the team and was able to return in early March. It took him a few games to get things going again but by the fourth game back, he was back to putting up points for the Wranglers. He was still effective in the playoffs again with four points in their six games.

Exceeding expectations

This season for Poirier to exceed expectations, he would need to be the number one call-up for the Flames. Similarly to the role Ilya Solovyov and Jordan Oesterle had last season. He’d be the first to come up if there is an injury and he’d be skilled enough to help the team out with the offensive side of his game.

If Poirier has the opportunity for an extended amount of time with the Flames, he would be approximately a year ahead of his expected development. This could’ve realistically been the expectation for this year had he been healthy last season and got his first couple of previews with the Flames.

Meeting expectations

The expected route for Poirier this year is hopefully a really good recovery and a great off-season to partner with it. He has played well in preseason and on a pairing with Hunter Brzustewicz could be a deadly combination. There is no reason why Poirier should not make his NHL debut with the Flames at some point this year unless he has an injury flare-up (fingers crossed that is not the case).

If Poirier is able to play a full season and get back to the shape he was in his rookie AHL year, he should be up near top five in Wranglers scoring, even as a defenceman. He has the skillset and knows what it takes to score in that league. He should be on the top power play unit and should be one of the Wranglers’ standouts this season.

I do expect him to come and go as a defensive need emerges with the Flames but it may take a few call-ups for him to get his legs at the NHL level. I’d be happy to see him in 10 or 15 games with the Flames this season and hopefully, as many Wranglers games as his body allows him to play.

Below expectations

This doesn’t appear to be the case yet, but if Poirier drops this year, it may be due to some difficulties with existing injuries from last season. A skate laceration is no joke, especially on your dominant arm. If he has not found ways to play comfortably despite some loss of feeling in that arm, his scoring game could take a hit. In that case, he made need to take on a more physical role to stay effective.

I would be surprised if Poirier is out again for the majority of the year or he doesn’t get at least a handful of games with the Flames. To fall off the radar, he’d need to fall in the Wranglers’ depth as well and that does not seem to be the route he is headed for based on his appearances in preseason so far. For the case of a player that is hungry to play, I would really like to see him bounce back to the Poirier the fanbase gets excited about.

2024-25 projection

Jeremie Poirier will likely start the first few months of the season with the Wranglers to build up some confidence he is aware he lost in his game. He wasn’t 100% satisfied with what he did at the end of last season and was very excited to get a good summer of training in before the Fall. He has had good opportunities in the preseason and hopefully, that stays in the back of the mind of the Flames coaching staff when call-ups are needed.

I could see Poirier with the Flames in early 2025 on a semi-regular basis. He may get a game or two before then depending on injuries and other defensive performances by guys higher in the depth chart, but an extended time in the NHL is not likely until the back half of the season. Especially depending on where the Flames stand in a potential push for a playoff spot. Poirier has a big year ahead of him and could be one of the biggest underdog stories for this organization this season.