Another NHL draft pick is on the way to Orono.
Carolina Hurricanes fifth-round draft choice (156th overall) Justin Poirier, who scored 122 goals in 181 regular season games over the last three seasons for Baie-Comeau Drakkar in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League, will be playing for the University of Maine this coming season.
The 5-foot-9, 183-pound Poirier scored 43 goals and added 37 assists in 58 games for Baie-Comeau Drakkar this past season after leading the league in goals in 2023-24 with 51. He also had 31 assists for 82 points in 68 games two years ago.
He led the league in playoff goals in 2023-24 with 18 in 17 games. He had nine playoff assists.
Poirier, who will turn 19 on Sept. 4, said there were a number of reasons behind his decision to come to UMaine.
“I liked the fact the guys were all friends with each other,” Poirier said about the Black Bears locker room.
He also liked that he was coming to a winning program and he was impressed with the renovations to the Alfond Arena.
UMaine won the Hockey East Tournament last season for the first time since 2004 and has reached the NCAA Tournament the last two years for the first time since the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons.
UMaine is in the midst of a $50 million renovation to the 48-year-old arena.
“There’s going to be a lounge where you can have dinner and do your homework and that’s very cool,” said Poirier, who added that he liked the fact the rink was on campus and close to the classrooms and living facilities.
Poirier will be expected to help fill a scoring void left by the departure of players who scored exactly half of UMaine’s goals last season. Sixty-two of the 124 goals were scored by players who have departed.
“That’s what I’m going to try to bring to the team, my offensive side. I’m going to keep shooting the puck and hope to score some goals,” said Poirier, who is from Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Quebec.
According to the Elite Prospects 2024 NHL Draft Guide, Poirier “drives all over the offensive zone in search of goals, positioning himself at the far-post for backdoor plays and jumping on rebounds in front of the net.”
Poirier “instinctively knows when and where a scoring chance will arise and how to seize them all,” according to that draft guide, which adds that he “can fire in the middle of steps on the rush, directly off passes with a catch-and-release motion or with a blazing one-timer.”
The incoming right wing knows there is going to be a significant adjustment and he is looking forward to it.
“I’ll be playing against older guys and bigger guys,” Poirier said. “In Major Junior, the players are 16-20 years old while in NCAA, they’re 18-to-25. So this will be way better for my development. I want to play in the NHL so I’m excited to make this jump.”
He intends to keep working on his strength in the offseason and he is also focusing on improving his quickness, especially in tight spaces. He wants to be able to get close to full speed in as few steps as possible.
“I want to become the best hockey player I can for the entire 200 feet. Hard work is the key to success,” said Poirier.
He noted that Orono will be a much shorter commute for his family compared to when he was playing for Baie-Comeau Drakkar, and they’re excited about coming to watch him play.
“It is five and a half hours to Orono while it was nine hours the last three years in juniors,” he pointed out.
His coming to UMaine is contingent upon him being accepted into the school and meeting NCAA eligibility requirements.
