FLAMES PROSPECT POIRIER OPENS UP ABOUT BATTLE WITH ALCOHOL
A few years ago, shortly after he was hired by the Calgary Flames, Brad Treliving saw what everyone had been talking about.
Emile Poirier, a promising prospect who was picked by former general manager Jay Feaster, had the wheels and was billed as a scoring winger out of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s Gatineau Olympiques.
“Abbotsford (the Flames’ former American Hockey League affiliate) was playing Grand Rapids the day after I got hired, and he had just come from Gatineau,” Treliving recalled, referring to Poirier’s professional debut in the spring of 2014. “This guy was the best player on the ice. “For both teams.” Adversity struck. Poirier, the 22nd overall pick in the 2013 NHL Draft, was forced to miss the Flames’ summer and fall training camp ahead of the 2014-15 season because of shoulder surgery.
Still, how was his first game back with the then-Adirondack Flames?
“He was the best player on both teams, again,” Treliving said. “He had two goals and hit five posts.
“I’m like, ‘We have a player here.’ From there, though ... ” The numbers say it all. In 2014-15, he had 19 goals and 23 assists in 55 AHL games and suited up for six regular-season NHL games. He received his first NHL call-up in late February 2015 and was part of the Black Aces reserve squad during the playoffs.
Then, his AHL point total dropped to 29 (12 goals and 17 assists in 60 games) to go along with a minus-14. He was recalled by the Flames for only two games that season and hasn’t been in The Show since.
Last season with the AHL’s Stockton Heat, he played 43 games and scored only six goals and 11 assists for the Flames farm club. Poirier was a healthy scratch on most nights until, finally, he took a personal leave of absence from the Flames and professional hockey.
“You say, ‘OK, there must be a reason for this,’ ” Treliving said. “The hockey is never going to work if the life isn’t in order ... and, in some ways, it answered those questions about what happened to Emile Poirier.”
Poirier opened up for the first time, publicly, about that reason — his battle with alcohol.
On Wednesday at the Flames development camp, the 22-yearold faced the issue head-on and, fully professional and focused, politely addressed the media.
“I want to thank the organization, especially Brad Treliving for his support,” Poirier said. “He helped me. I had some issues regarding drinking off the ice, and I called him for support. It wasn’t easy for me at that time. The whole organization has been supportive, my teammates.... Now, I’m looking forward and I’m fully healthy and here for the summer.
“I don’t want to miss on any opportunities anymore.”
Poirier turned to former Flames favourite Brian McGrattan and Flames forward Micheal Ferland, who have both overcome addiction.
“I’m working with (McGrattan) every day,” Poirier said. “He helped me through that process.... I’ve talked with (Ferland) a lot. He and Brian are there for me.
“(Ferland) said it was a good thing (to open up about it) and he’s one of my good buddies. We talk a lot about it. Along the way, we talk about it.”
Because it’s never going to be an easy road.
“It’s every day,” Treliving said of alcoholism. “All we can do is give him the best support network and tell him every day that we care about him and support him. It’s a daily thing. The good news is there’s a lot of people around.”
And already, Poirier has seen a positive shift.
“I just saw my life and where it was going,” said the six-foot-two, 200-pounder. “I needed a change and I had seen signs over the last two years. Finally, I admitted it to myself.
I’m healthy now. I want to work out and I want to make this team. I want to fully recover and put my focus on hockey and that’s what I’m going to do.”
Treliving said the Flames are going to do everything they can to help Poirier get his hockey career back on track.
“In today’s day and age, I think he’s shocked at how supportive everyone is, even talking (Wednesday),” Treliving said. “People are going to wonder where you’ve been for two months. He said, ‘Let’s address it.’ And I said, ‘I think you’re going to be shocked at the support you’ll get.’ I’m really proud of him ... you really root for him. I do.
“I’m rooting for him.”