Adam Poitras has played in meaningful games before, but Saturday night’s Las Vegas Desert Dogs vs Albany FireWolves match, played in memory of Tucker Williams, was by far the most emotional.
Poitras, who captained his Whitby Warriors Jr. A club to the 2022 Minto Cup championship, had the biggest game of his young NLL career on Saturday night. He scored his first career hat trick and the overtime game-winning goal as Las Vegas beat Albany 12-11.
From Whitby, Ontario, the 23-year-old Poitras grew up alongside Dyson Williams, playing minor lacrosse on the same team every other year. He was also coached by Desert Dogs’ Head Coach and GM Shawn Williams in minor and junior, so experiencing his first Tucker Out Lymphoma game alongside the two was a special moment.
“I was really excited. It was my first Tucker Out game and meant a lot just playing for an organization, a fundraiser bigger than yourself. It was fun to play in that game. It was for a great cause, and it was definitely emotional,” Poitras said on Tuesday.
Poitras’ first goal, in the second quarter, tied the game 4-4. His second marker, in the third quarter, kicked off a run of three Desert Dogs goals in a minute and eight seconds.
“I thought the whole team was pretty confident going in,” the rookie said. “We got the week off, which was good for us. We’ve been going at it for a while with training camp and a lot of travel, and then throughout the game it was a grind of a game.”
Leading 11-10 late in the fourth, it was Dyson Williams who sent the game to overtime. So, it only made sense that it was childhood teammate and friend Poitras who ended it, 2:01 into the extra frame.
“Their defense likes to play fast, and they pressed us out pretty far and it was one of those opportunities where it was just a give and go between Jackson Webster and I,” described Poitras. “It was this organic thing that happened on the floor. It happens all the time; it just seemed to happen a little better this time than other times. Webster made a good pass and I just kind of walked and tried to jam it in and end the game.”
It was Las Vegas’ first win of the season after starting with four losses.
“Some of us were celebrating in the offensive end and a lot of us went down to (Landon) Kells (in goal). He was awesome for us and kept us in several spots, whether it was in the first quarter for us to get our breath or in the fourth making a big save. It was pure excitement to get that first win and it was a lot of relief getting (it) off our backs. It just kind of sits in the back of your mind when things aren’t going your way and eventually, when you do get one on the board, it feels good.”
Even with the monkey off their backs, Poitras doesn’t think getting wins will be easier now.
“I think we kind of recognize what it takes to play four full quarters sometimes in overtime. And I think it’s more of a mental thing now. We were kind of stuck with that. We play well, but we give up these big runs in games and can never recover. I felt we were really resilient in this past game. We learned how we need to play to win given our team and our personnel.”
Poitras now has seven goals and four assists in five games; he’s scoring at a much lower rate than he did in junior – in his final season, he amassed 104 points (40G/64A) in 18 regular season games. But the feedback from Williams and the coaching staff has been positive, he said. Having Williams as his coach has been a benefit.
“It helped coming into training camp, knowing what he expects from his players. It made the transition from junior to pro a lot easier.”
Williams knew what Poitras was capable of and drafted him second overall in the 2023 NLL Entry Draft.
As for what the coaching staff has imparted to Poitras: “It’s just staying confident, playing your game and knowing that you deserve to be out there and that you belong,” he said. “And a lot of reassurance of, I know things aren’t going the way we want to… but you just have to stick at it. It’s going to be a matter of just grinding away at it. Nothing’s going to come easy, especially as a rookie. You have to learn how to play against these top high-level players, but it’s being patient as well, just not trying to press the issue and let the game come to me.”
Also helping Poitras adjust to the life of a professional athlete has been his younger brother, Matt, a member of the Boston Bruins organization. Currently playing for Boston’s AHL affiliate in Providence, Matt was an NHL rookie last season.
Poitras beat his brother to the professional sports hat trick milestone, though he admitted they don’t often talk about sports together. It also took just 6 weeks for Poitras to achieve Rookie of the Week honors.
“But he kind of gave me some insight on how difficult playing against grown men and the best players in the world are,” Poitras shared. “Just being able to keep your level up and stay confident, even when you might not be putting out the same production as you have been in the past, was probably one of the bigger things that he and I could talk about.”
Both brothers played high-level hockey and lacrosse as they grew up. Adam decided to focus on lacrosse in grade 10 and enrolled at The Hill Academy (run by Brodie Merrill).
“I just felt that I had a better chance (with lacrosse). I felt like that was a better path for me and trying to go to the university route versus an OHL, junior hockey route. (Matt) was an exceptional hockey and lacrosse player. I think he could have done either, but I think he made the right choice.”
Poitras also has junior teammate Sean Westley helping him adjust to the pro game, as well as many former opponents from the Ontario Junior Lacrosse League.
“You kind of know their game from playing against them, and lacrosse is a very small community, so you learn to watch these guys and understand how they play as well as meeting them outside of the rink. We played against Dylan Watson, Landon Kells and Jackson Webster in junior. I know what these guys’ games are about and it’s kind of fun to play with them.”
Poitras, a Loyola University graduate who spent the 2024 summer season in the PLL, said that he would define success in his rookie year as contributing to helping a team win in any way he can.
“It’s not just points or whatever stat you want to put on the board. It’s making sure that I’m a good teammate,” he emphasized. “I’m building strong relationships with all of my teammates, especially the guys in the offensive end because that’s the biggest thing. It’s a lot of new guys and new faces and gelling to create chemistry. So just building that trust with each other is what’s going to make us successful. I think all those coming together will help us get more wins.”
This Saturday, the Desert Dogs will look for their second win when they visit the Saskatchewan Rush at SaskTel Centre at 8 p.m. The game can be streamed live on ESPN+, TSN+ and NLL+.
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