[Savvy27]

Originally Posted by Commandant

First goal he steals the puck off a defenceman, as he is skating forwards, and the dman is going towards the gatineau net. The D has to turn to chase him, he's got momentum on his side, as he is in motion, and the D has to stop, pivot and start.

This was the goal that I was excluding, although it's still obvious he is fast.

2nd goal, he's defintely faster than the guy chasing him (a forward on the backcheck). Who is the guy chasing him? Is he fast? Is he slow? I can't tell, the youtube is kinda grainy. The defenceman he beats with his agility and acceleration.

Grainy? What? If he is still accelerating after starting in his own zone then his top speed is so fast he is incapable of reaching it within the length of the rink. I'm confused by your difficulty in assessing speed without having another known quantity racing him to compare to. It'd be clear to see that he's fast even if nobody else was on the ice. Sure it makes it easier if you are comparing him to Mason Raymond or something, but watching absolutely blow by major junior players is more reliable than you're making it seem.

3rd goal, yes, he beats the forward back checking on him in top speed, again I can't tell who that guy is. As for the D, where are they? did he get them on a line change? or out of position? or flat footed? I don't know. I can't see where the defence start, they are outside the frame.

Are you making a reasonable doubt argument?!? Claiming that Poirier being fast is only one possible explanation for the fact that he went from a board battle at his own hashmarks to the opponents net completely untouched? Bizarre.

Again youtube doesn't allow me to assess top end speed properly on these three plays vs watching a few entire games (which can be good not great on video) or watching in person (best method by far).

I've seen him play live three times and each of those times he was the fastest skater on the ice (or if he wasn't, I can't recall who might have been). Your assessment: "Poirer has continued to work on his skating stride, and while its still not textbook, it is not a liability either. While not a speedster he’s improved his top end speed to being at an average level and the fact that he can now keep up with with the play really helped him over the last two years. With the work he’s put in and the quick improvements, it wouldn’t be a surprise for him to continue to improve his stride." is way off and makes me wonder about your descriptions of players that I haven't seen.