North Bay Battalion’s Zach Poirier willing to get his nose dirty: Making The Jump

Zach Poirier's progress in his minor midget season paralleled his new team's.

The North Bay Battalion's first-rounder fits the prototype of a forward on a Stan Butler team, possessing strength to protect the puck and ward off defenders, along with good vision and a big-time shot. Just as the Battalion knocked off perhaps more highly regarded foes on their way to a berth in the 2014 OHL final, Poirier also advanced by helping his Upper Canada Cyclones punch above their weight during playoffs in the Ottawa region's midget AAA league. The Mountain, Ont., native helped Upper Canada push the loaded Ottawa Jr. 67's, led by Plymouth Whalers first-rounder and league scoring champ William Bitten, to seven games during the playoffs.

"Gregg Kennedy, my coach this past season with the Upper Canada Cyclones, really helped me change my game to what it needed to be," says the 5-foot-11, 190-pound Poirier, who signed with North Bay earlier this month. "He helped a lot with me getting to where I am now. He gave me a leadership role. That made me mature as a player and off the ice with the guys. That just translated back to the on-ice play. I started moving the puck a lot more, becoming a team guy. Not that I wasn't before, but he just helped me with being where I needed to be.

"He told me that the guys looked up to me," Poirier adds. "I didn't really fully understand that until the playoffs started and I started showing it. Like off the ice when we were doing warm-up or on the ice with the puck, I knew that I could trust them and they knew they could trust me. We worked together as a team and it turned out well."

Butler and the Battalion have dipped into the nation capital region for their first-rounder in successive years, having also taken Vars, Ont., native Brett McKenzie in 2013. While McKenzie moved to the Greater Toronto Hockey League for his final two minor hockey seasons,

"It was a good league here in Ottawa," Poirier says. "I found that there was no point in going to the Toronto league for just one season. I'd have to adjust, change, so I didn't think that would really help at all.

"We did not expect to take the Jr. 67's to Game 7, definitely," the centre adds. "But after the fifth game we knew there was a shot to do that. We came together and all the guys became more confident."

The Battalion have some openings up front after bidding adieu to two overages along with Swedish forward Vincent Praplan. Poirier's style of game should allow him to cut his OHL teeth as a role player.

"On the ice, I'm physical, definitely not one to shy away from getting my nose dirty in the corners," says Poirier, who's eager for his first matchup against Sean Day after playing with the Mississauga Steelheads' rushing defenceman during Hockey Canada's recent under-17 camp. "I like grinding and going in the dirty areas but I like to shoot the puck a lot."

Poirier also got some exposure to the Memorial Gardens atmosphere following his selection by the Battalion in early April. Now that he's signed, he's eager to immerse himself in one of the OHL's livelier rinks.

"I came down here for a playoff game against Barrie. The building was packed and it was so loud. I don't really know how to describe it but it was a fantastic atmosphere."

1. What is one skill you really wish into improve this season?

"Probably my skating. It improved a lot from the beginning of last year till the end of the year. I wasn't always the fastest guy, but then outmuscling guys to the puck and being faster than them helped me a lot toward the end of last year. I would say that was my biggest area of improvement last season.

2. Who do you take after on the ice?

"Troy Brouwer off the Washington Capitals, I like to model my game after him. He's a hard-working player, but he knows how to shoot the puck and he knows when to shoot the puck."

3. How have your parents (Jean and Karen Poirier) contributed to success?

"My mom taught me everything I know about hockey. My mom and dad, they gave me support in everything I did. They taught me all my morals and how to be mature on and off the ice. They brought me to every game and every practice, so they really had everything to do with me getting to where I am.

"My mom played hockey all her life until she had me. She played in a Toronto women's league that was a national league."

4. What other sports did you play before committing to hockey? How did they contribute to your growth as a hockey player?

"In school, I tried to play every sport that I could. Soccer was one of the main sports that I played in the summer. I played it in school all the time. Playing every sport contributes to what happens on and off the ice. I think soccer certainly helped the most with cardio and footwork.."

5. There's so much pressure placed on young hockey players; what's one of your favourite stress busters?

"I used to like dirt biking but I had to put that away; really can't do that any more in case I get hurt. Now it's just hanging out with friends, being in the hometown [Mountain, Ont.]."

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.