It’s been quite the journey for Emile Poirier thus far. From decent numbers in the QMJHL to an exciting rookie pro season that included an NHL debut, he was looking like one of the Flames’ next top prospects. He took a step backward in his second professional season though, and again in his third, and suddenly, Poirier became more of an afterthought than anything else.
That was, until it was noted that Poirier had been absent from the Stockton Heat for an extended period of time. At the end of the season, we learned that his time away from hockey was spent treating alcohol abuse.