Don Poile was born June 1, 1932 in Fort William, Ontario. A graduate of the Thunder Bay Junior Hockey League, Poile spent three seasons with the Fort William Hurricanes leading them to the 1952 Memorial Cup tournament.
After three years in the TBJHL, Poile joined the International Hockey League's Milwaukee Chiefs in 1952-53 before suiting up in the playoffs with the Western Hockey League's Edmonton Flyers. Poile rejoined the Flyers for the 1953-54 season and earned WHL Rookie of the Year honors before making his NHL debut the following season with the Detroit Red Wings.
Although he spent the majority of the 1954-55 season with the Flyers and competing for the Edinburgh Trophy (WHL/QHL Challenge Series), Poile played in four games with the Red Wings before returning to Edmonton line up for the next two seasons.
Following two highly productive seasons with Edmonton, Poile rejoined the Red Wings in 1957-58 while only playing in two games with the Flyers that season. In 62 regular season and four playoff games with the Red Wings, Poile managed to score his first NHL goal and finished the season with seven while adding nine assists for 16 points.
Following the 1957-58 season, the Detroit Red Wings traded Poile to the American Hockey League's Hershey Bears with whom he played only a handful of games with while spending the majority of the season back in the WHL with the Flyers. Poile spent the next three years with Edmonton and the better part of ten seasons with the team before retiring from the game following the 1961-62 season.
