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Etienne Morin and Jeremie Poirier’s connection pre and post-dates the Calgary Wranglers
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Photo credit: David Moll/Calgary Wranglers
Paige Siewert
May 10, 2026, 12:00 EDTUpdated: May 9, 2026, 21:34 EDT
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Etienne Morin came to Calgary off a Gilles-Corteau Trophy win with the Moncton Wildcats and ready to kick his professional career into gear. His first year pro had some growing pains and some lessons learned but someone who was here to help him along the way was Jeremie Poirier.
Poirier was a longtime Wrangler since the team’s inaugural season and up until the middle of the season, only played with one team in his professional career. Right from the start of the year, Poirier and Morin appeared to have a bond and it was more than just a Québécois connection. They were from the same hometown and in the same circles and while Poirier was two years older than Morin, Morin was still able to get to know him a bit through playing with his younger brother, Justin. They also played the same position on the same side as left shot defencemen. 
In exit meetings this season, Morin talked about his connection to Poirier and how that eased the transition into pro for him. Morin said:
“I played a lot with his younger brother growing up. It’s funny because JP has always been a player I’d look up to because he’s from the same spot as me. When I was younger, I was trying to follow in his footsteps and stuff. And it’s what I did too. It was just super awesome that I got drafted at the same spot as him.”
The chance to play with Poirier ended up being on borrowed time as Poirier was traded mid-season to the Texas Stars in exchange for Gavin White. Jeremie was in a bit of a funk with Calgary and was trying to get back to his regular levels of production after suffering a skate laceration injury in his sophomore season. By the end of January, he only had six points in his 35 games with the Wranglers and a change of scenery was the executive decision to give Poirier a fair chance at development. The person this trade hit the hardest was, understandably, Morin. Morin said:
“It’s funny because the same thing happened to me in junior. There was a player that was from my hometown again. He drove me up there 10 hours with them and got traded at Christmas. It’s not fun. Especially I was 16 and like it breaks your heart but at the end of the day, it’s a business right? They have to do what they have to do and they’re professional so they know what they’re doing to. It was hard to see him go but it’s not forever.”
The good thing for Morin was firstly getting that shot to play with Poirier and secondly, having him to lean on in some of the more challenging parts of his season when he didn’t have a set spot in the lineup and was working between the ECHL and AHL. Once Poirier left, Morin did a lot of work to get a spot back in the lineup and was a blue line regular in the last two months of the season. 
Their shared experience doesn’t end here, as Morin already made plans with Poirier over the summer after he comes home from Texas, where their season just ended in a playoff elimination in the Central Division semi-finals earlier this week. Morin said:
“I’m going to see him playing golf. I’m going to see him at home. I train on the ice with him over the summer too so looking forward to that.
Morin is still grateful he got the time he did with Poirier in Calgary, and training in his hometown with someone who knows the Wranglers system well is sure to do wonders for his off-season development.
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