Hard not to be excited about this guy.
Central scouting had Poirier ranked 39th among NA skaters in their final pre-draft rankings. He was a bit of an "off the board" pick at 22, but the Flames like the progress he made during his draft year.
11/12: 67 GP, 15 g, 25 a, 40 p, 53 pim, -17, (0.60 ppg)
12/13: 65 GP, 32 g, 38 a, 70 p, 101 pim, even, (1.07 ppg)
It was a significant jump and I personally do subscribe to putting more weight on draft year development curve.
The pick was somewhat controversial initially for Flames fans because of his relatively low rankings in pre-draft reports, coupled with the fact that other, much higher ranked picks (i.e. Hunter Shinkaruk) were still available when the Flames picked.
That controversy dissipated rather quickly, I thought, the more the collective fan base learned about Poirier: blazing speed, good hands, nice size at 6'1", and plays with an edge.
I haven't seen much of Poirier except for a couple of televised games and highlight packages and admit that much of my enthusiasm ia based on those and what I read on stats lines, but from everything I can gather, he's had a heck of a season, and seemingly each game he plays only confirms that the Flames made a great choice with this pick.
For example, he has taken another major step this year production-wise:
61 GP, 43 g, 41 a, 84 p, 127 pim, +27, (1.38 ppg)
You couldn't ask for anything better than that, IMO. Worst case you see a step backwards, it's not uncommon to see players plateau, but with Poirier, another big step forward.
So where is the limit for this player? Hard not to be excited about this pick and looking forward to seeing what's in store for him next season in what will almost certainly be his first as a pro.
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