A lot of players have looked good in the AHL, struggled on their early NHL call-ups, then went on to become solid NHLers once they got properly adjusted.
Mark Giordano is one example. His first year in Omaha, he was named to the AHL All-Star game and led the entire team in scoring (ahead of other future NHLers like Moss, Nystrom, and Prust). All that season, he and Richie Regehr were neck-and-neck for a call-up to Calgary, and when they finally got them, Regehr looked much better.
Gio continued to look better on each subsequent call-up, and we all know how it eventually turned out.
Gio got his first call-up when he was 22. Poirier was still 19 at the start of last season. Poirier was one of the youngest players in the AHL last season. He still could have played junior last season. If he was two and a half weeks younger, he would have had to play junior.
The only player who saw any time with the Flames last season who is younger than Poirier is Bennett. The fact that Poirier didn't look as good in the NHL as Bennett or Monahan says more about how good Bennett and Monahan are than it does about Poirier. Poirier is also seven months younger than any other player in Adirondack last season (and was only one point behind Agostino for the team lead in points, while playing 12 fewer games).
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Sorry, I meant in his few games I have seen live (in Flames silks). Anyway, I am sure (and hope) I am wrong.
He's played around 48 minutes in Flames silks, playing pretty much 4th line role which Hartley uses mostly defensively, sink or swim. Most guys on our roster have tended to sink in that role other than Stajan, Byron, Bouma (at wing), Ferland and Jooris. That includes Johnny, Granlund, Shore, Colborne, Sven (RIP), Bouma(at center), and Bollig. The amount of sample size to make any judgement on him is virtually nil, other than the Winnipeg "game" where he must have done something to get on Hartley's bad side.
Also, though he only actually spent 3 minutes with Backs and less than a minute with Bouma, but I liked this sequence... it got me kind of excited to see these three together again in the future:
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I've been taking a break from the endless summer posts about what may happen between now and October so I'm late to the party but apparently Poirier now a bust because he didn't light up the NHL in limited ice time and small sample size?
I've been taking a break from the endless summer posts about what may happen between now and October so I'm late to the party but apparently Poirier now a bust because he didn't light up the NHL in limited ice time and small sample size?
I actually liked his play during his callup... might not have produced but was pretty tenacious on the forcheck for a few shifts that I remember.
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I actually liked his play during his callup... might not have produced but was pretty tenacious on the forcheck for a few shifts that I remember.
Yeah, I thought he looked fine for a player getting his first taste of the NHL. He was a mid/late 1st round pick. His path to the NHL isn't going to be immediate, but I have no doubt that he will get there. He'll take the well travelled path (AHL for a couple of seasons, then work his way up the through the bottom 6 before becoming a top 6).
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Well some of you are taking my comments way out of stride (EE). I am just giving my opinion, that unlike many other rookies who had a few shifts with the Flames, I never saw the glimpses of what made him so great in AHL. Doesn't mean it won't happen, just saying I am still on the fence.
As a hockey fan discussing hockey on the internet I like making flash judgements on limited viewing, doesn't mean I think the Flames should trade him or give up, it just means I am a fan and giving my opinion.
All I am saying is that in the games I have seen him, he was unsure and relatively weak on the puck on the boards. He didn't really have those little glimmers that some other special rookies do. Therefore, he has yet to prove himself to me.
The guy played all of 6 games last year with limited ice time on the 4th line as a short term injury replacement (did he even play on the 3rd?). He was initially not even going to the NHL at all last year, until it it was decided he needed a cup of tea once the opportunity came. The guy is 20 years old...
I still think he is our best prospect outside of Bennett. I expect him to be a permanent fixture on the 2nd line within 2 years.
