We’re just two days away from the start of the draft, and it’s time that we hit the home stretch. And next up on the draft board, we’ve got one of the more intriguing offensive defensemen in this draft class. He can be a bit boom or bust, but he’s a strong play maker, and he scored 20 goals last season, and that certainly should making him intriguing.
The Q already kicked off their season, and Poirier is off to a really good start. Granted, they’ve only played two games, so we’re going to be cautious about making any grand sweeping statements about what it means. But he does have four points already. And that’s neat.
BSH 2020 Community Draft Board, No. 27: Jeremie Poirier
2019-20 Season
Team: Saint John Sea Dogs (QMJHL)
Statistics: 20 G, 33 A in 64 GP
Pre-draft rankings
No. 18 (European skaters) by NHL Central Scouting
No. 35 by Future Considerations
No. NR by ISS Hockey
No. 23 by The Athletic (Wheeler)
What’s there to like?
As you’ve probably already picked up from the stat line provided above, Poirier offers a really impressive offensive game. He’s a really creative play maker in the offensive zone, and can often prove elusive to defenders, zipping around and trying to make plays happen. He’s got good vision and a quick shot, and part of his success comes from the fact that he’s also served as something of a volume shooter for his team. He’s a highly skilled player, and that’s something that really makes him stand out.
He’s also a really strong skater, with smooth strides, and has a very good first pass, which makes him an effective puck mover, good in transition, and also gives his game an extra bit of dimension.
He does make some mistakes, but that also sort of comes with the territory—as we’ve discussed even with some of the Flyers’ players at the NHL level, when you have the puck a lot (as Poirier does), you’re going to make some turnovers.
What’s not to like?
And, as might be expected from a young offensive defenseman, it’s the defensive side that needs a bit of polishing. His gaps need a bit of work, and so does some of his decision making—this isn’t to say that he routinely makes dumb plays, but rather can get caught trying to do too much to make a fancy play, and then having that broken up and blowing up in his face a bit. His play making ability is what makes him interesting as a player, and we don’t want to see him abandon that entirely, but it would serve him well to get better about picking his spots an not taking unnecessary risks.
How would he fit in the Flyers’ system?
As we’ve noted in some of our earlier profiles, relative to the other positions, the Flyers’ prospect pool is thinner, so bolstering that even further feels like a natural choice. Poirier, though parts of his game are still a little rough, certainly has good NHL upside, and that would be a welcome addition to the pipeline.
Now, that said, on the flip side, they do already have a few strong puck moving offensive defensemen in the system, and there isn’t much that Poirier does that really sets him apart from someone like a Travis Sanheim or a Cam York. Is that a bad thing? Not necessarily, especially if you want a defense corps that’s all offense all the time. It’s easy to see why this type of player would be appealing, especially if you’re betting that with the right development path, he can shore up the defensive side a bit.
Could the Flyers actually get him?
Most of the boards have Poirier going around of just after the Flyers pick, so if the Flyers decide he’s the one for them, it doesn’t look like they would have to make any kind of move to jump up in the order to grab him (indeed, they might even be in the position where, if they moved back a bit, they could still get him).
There are some scouts that are higher on him than others, which likely means there are some teams higher on him than others, so it wouldn’t be a massive surprise if he was picked before the Flyers are on the clock, but in all likelihood, he’s going to be pretty well within their reach.
2020 BSH Community Draft Board
- Alexis Lafreniere — LW, Rimouski (QMJHL)
- Quinton Byfield — C, Sudbury (OHL)
- Marco Rossi — C, Ottawa (OHL)
- Tim Stützle — LW/C, Manheim (DEL)
- Cole Perfetti — LW/C, Saginaw (OHL)
- Lucas Raymond — RW, Frölunda (SHL)
- Jamie Drysdale — D, Erie (OHL)
- Alexander Holtz — LW/RW, Djurgardens (SHL)
- Yaroslav Askarov — G, SKA (KHL)
- Anton Lundell — C, HIFK (Liiga)
- Connor Zary — C, Kamloops (WHL)
- Seth Jarvis — RW/C, Portland (WHL)
- Jake Sanderson — D, USNTDP (USHL)
- Noel Gunler — RW/LW, Lulea (SHL)
- Jan Mysak — C, Hamilton (OHL)
- Jack Quinn — RW, Ottawa (OHL)
- Jacob Perreault — RW, Sarnia (OHL)
- Mavrik Bourque — C, Shawinigan (QMJHL)
- Dylan Holloway — LW, Univ. of Wisconsin (NCAA)
- Rodion Amirov — L, Neftekamst (VHL)
- Hendrix Lapierre — C, Chicoutimi (QJMHL)
- Kaiden Guhle — D, Prince Albert (WHL)
- Braden Schneider, D, Brandon (WHL)
- Dawson Mercer — RW, Chicoutimi (QMJHL)
- Lukas Reichel — LW, Berlin (DEL)
- Helge Grans — D, Malmo (SHL)
- Jeremie Poirier — D, Saint John (QMJHL)
- ???
