The Fort Erie Meteors are counting on big things from Easton Poirier this season.
The 17-year-old winger showed the Meteors his potential last year in the Eastern Conference finals where he helped the St. Catharines Falcons upend Fort Erie for the championship.
“Got a call in the offseason that he was interested in playing for us and thought after watching him in the playoffs he was kind of the player that we needed around here and we found a way to make it work,” Fort Erie coach/general manager Nik Passero said.
Poirier, who spent last season with the Niagara North Stars U18 AAA squad under coach Brody Kritsch, collected six goals and 13 points in 13 post-season games for the Falcons.
“He played really well under those circumstances for a rookie, his physicality is something you notice right away,” Passero said. “He’s not scared to get dirty and then his willingness to go to the front of the net and score goals is also something that at this level not everyone does or not everyone’s willing to do. Come playoff time, it’s a really hard place to score. So it was nice to bring in a player like that and change the dynamic of our top six.”
Poirier said he is comfortable in his new surroundings.
“Obviously it was a big change, but I think I made the right change,” he said. “It’s a lot of fun over here, guys are great and I can’t wait to keep going with this team.
“I feel like this team’s closer together and I believe in this group so much. I feel like this year will be more fun for me and a better fit. It’s kind of nerve-wracking not knowing everybody but a bunch of my U-18 team buddies are here so that helped a lot and then all the older guys are just great to everybody so it’s awesome.”
Poirier, a Grade 12 student at Sir Winston Churchill, has played on Fort Erie’s top line with Sam Tonelli and Danny Adamo at times this season. He is still looking for his first goal, but Passero isn’t worried.
“He hasn’t scored yet, so he’s been pressing hard, but last weekend he led us in scoring chances,” Passero said. “It just hasn’t fallen for him yet, but it’s going to for sure. We’re OK with where his game is at, and he’s growing.
“I think that’s his best attribute, his scoring. The other stuff comes pretty natural to him, so not that we want to pressure him into having a goal, because he’s going to score, but I think that’s something that sets him aside from other players.”
Poirier is confident the goals will come.
“Obviously it’s pretty frustrating, but I just gotta keep shooting. I’m getting a bunch of scoring chances, so one will go in,” he said.
Poirier feels his success in the playoffs last season shows the kind of player he can be at the junior level.
“It helped me a lot, because obviously going from U18 to junior B is a big jump, and I think with being in playoffs with them, it helped me a lot getting used to the pace, getting ready for this year. At the end of the last season my confidence was huge and I just kind of brought it in this season,” he said.
Poirier, son of former Falcons enforcer Steve Poirier, was a 2024 draft pick (13th round, 256th overall) of Brantford and went to camp with the Bulldogs this year.
“I think the main thing is the speed there,” he said. “Just everybody’s so fast and aggressive and you need a lot of skill to play there. So yeah, it’s a big jump.”
The Meteors are off to a 3-1 start and have outscored their opponents 21-7.
“We made it a goal this year to score more and through the first four, we’ve done a pretty good job of that,” Passero said. “Special teams have been really good so that’s been great, but just trying to learn who we are. I think everyone’s in the same boat. As many returning guys as we have, we do have a few new guys, too. So just kind of figuring out who we are and what we’re gonna excel at and go from there.”
Passero feels having ice time available every day is a huge factor for his club.
“We’re together every day and I think that’s something that has afforded us to be a little bit more successful, just getting that tight-knit group and having a nice locker room and making sure guys want to be here.”
The Meteors are in Caledonia Friday and home to the Pelham Panthers Saturday.
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