Calgary Flames prospect Jeremie Poirier is back practising with the Wranglers

Good news, everybody! Calgary Flames defensive prospect Jeremie Poirier, known for his offensive-minded playing style and unfortunate, lengthy absence from game action this season, returned to practice with the American Hockey League’s Calgary Wranglers on Monday, per the club’s social media.

Originally selected by the Flames back in the third round of the 2020 NHL Draft, Poirier won a Memorial Cup in 2022 as a member of the Saint John Sea Dogs. He went pro in 2022-23 with the Wranglers and had nine goals and 41 points in 69 games, earning himself a spot on the AHL’s All-Rookie Team.

Poirier had seven points in four games with the Wranglers before suffering a serious laceration on Oct. 21 during a neutral zone play with Sheldon Dries in a game against the Abbotsford Canucks – early in the second period of that game, Poirier dove to swipe the puck away from Dries and his arm was cut by Dries’ skate. He’s been on the shelf recovering from his injury ever since, and he returned to skating on his own at the end of January. No timeline has yet been announced for his return to action, but returning to practice is a big positive step in that process.

In our 2023 summer prospect rankings, our writing staff voted Poirier into a tie with Connor Zary and Etienne Morin for fifth. (The guys ahead of him: Dustin Wolf, Matt Coronato, Jakob Pelletier and Samuel Honzek.) Poirier has a well-earned reputation for being a really smart, dynamic offensive blueliner, and he showed his chops in his first season of pro hockey.

He’s got some work to do with his play away from the puck, and the thought process was likely that with additional game reps with the Wranglers he’d be able to smooth out those rough spots in his game in the same way young blueliners like TJ Brodie and Oliver Kylington were able to do in the recent past.

It seems incredibly unlikely that Poirier will be able to dip his toes into the NHL pond this year; he’s missed four months of AHL game reps and getting him up to speed at that level before the Calder Cup playoffs is probably the priority. But considering how lean the Flames’ defensive group is looking going forward at the NHL level – they have three blueliners under contract for 2024-25 – Poirier could position himself for a lengthy NHL audition with a strong conclusion to this season with the Wranglers.