Patrick Williams, TheAHL.com Options Author
Whether or not it was his fresh-faced, clean-cut 1960’s look with the Quebec Aces, his 70’s-style mustache with the Rochester People, or the proud father and grandfather going into the AHL Corridor of Fame this week, the images converse to simply how lengthy René Drolet has had a connection to the American Hockey League.
Hockey has taken Drolet to loads of totally different locations in his 80 years. His hometown of Quebec Metropolis. Richmond, Va., which had by no means had professional hockey earlier than. Rochester, one of many AHL’s cornerstone cities. Philadelphia and Detroit within the NHL. The stands of Place Bell to look at the Laval Rocket. And on Monday, Palm Desert, Calif., for his induction among the many AHL’s legends.
Standing 5-foot-7, and enjoying in an period with far fewer NHL alternatives than at this time, Drolet had a tough path to any NHL work. However he made it, enjoying one sport for the Flyers in 1972 and another for the Crimson Wings in 1974. And he was a star within the American League, the place he broke in full-time with the Quebec Aces in 1966-67 earlier than transferring on to the Richmond Robins, Virginia Wings and Rochester People.
By the point he retired in 1978, Drolet had compiled 741 factors (298 targets, 443 assists) in 840 AHL video games.
Driving alongside him your complete manner was his spouse, Louise. They went to the Calder Cup Finals in 1968 and 1969. They moved to Richmond in 1971 when the Aces, the Flyers’ AHL affiliate, relocated south. They mastered English within the American South; daughter Julie discovered the language at college. René and Louise bought assist selecting it up by watching TV reveals like The Value is Proper and Let’s Make a Deal. Socializing with gamers’ wives and girlfriends, they grew to become much more fluent and comfy; Julie stays in contact with household mates from that point.
“The folks there, they had been actually good for us,” Drolet stated. “We made some nice mates there… We had been household.”
When the Robins opened Richmond Coliseum in October 1971, hockey was brand-new to town. The AHL was transferring into new markets, bringing an unfamiliar sport to folks nonetheless desirous to embrace it. And instantly it grew to become clear that the environment there could be totally different from their years in Quebec.
“The women in lengthy clothes, the lads in tuxedos, they had been coming to see the present,” Drolet stated, laughing as he recalled the opening-night scene. “My spouse couldn’t imagine it.”
However hockey caught on shortly. The Robins by no means discovered loads of success within the standings, however they helped to arrange prospects for future success with the Flyers, who would win the Stanley Cup in 1974 and 1975. Richmond constructed rivalries with Hershey – “If I’d have requested for a commerce,” Drolet stated, “I’d have requested to be traded to Hershey. We performed there more often than not on Saturday nights, and it was a full home the entire time.” – the Baltimore Clippers, and their new neighbors in Norfolk, the Tidewater (later Virginia) Wings.
And 12 months after 12 months – 10 seasons in a row, the truth is – Drolet scored 20 or extra targets. In 4 of these seasons, he crossed the 30-goal mark, together with a career-best 34 with the Robins in 1972-73.
Drolet was an necessary key to the success of the AHL in so-called non-traditional cities. Half a century later the game has unfold throughout the US – together with to the Coachella Valley, which like Richmond had by no means hosted hockey earlier than the Firebirds’ arrival in 2022. So when Drolet bought his first take a look at the state-of-the-art Acrisure Area, he couldn’t assist however be struck by how far the league has come since his enjoying days in rinks circled with rooster wire somewhat than Plexiglass.
The AHL’s expertise additionally stands out. When he attended a sport at Place Bell in Laval two years in the past, he got here away impressed.
“I couldn’t imagine how briskly it was,” Drolet stated.
Folks like Drolet helped the AHL turn out to be what it’s at this time. He turned professional in 1965, and he and Louise married. After an extended profession in enterprise following his enjoying days, at this time Drolet is absolutely immersed in life as a grandfather. He beams when he mentions that Julie, his son Nicolas, and his granddaughter Veronica all have graduated from prestigious McGill College in Montreal; Julie is a registered nurse at Dawson School, Nicolas is an administrator in McGill’s dental faculty, and Veronica works for the Montreal Alliance of the Canadian Elite Basketball League.
Monday’s ceremony introduced again many reminiscences for Drolet. He additionally famous in his speech that there have been no video clips in his induction montage, as a result of when he performed “it was simply footage.”
These enjoying days had been a very long time in the past. However they helped to convey his household to the place they’re at this time. All these years within the AHL, that transfer to Richmond to attempt one thing outdoors of their consolation zone, nonetheless depart Drolet smiling. And whereas he’s happy with his enjoying profession, it’s his cherished one who animate him most.
“I’ll at all times be proud to be an American Hockey League participant and Corridor of Famer,” he stated. “My hockey profession has been good for me. Nevertheless it has been nice for my household.”
On the American Hockey League beat for twenty years, TheAHL.com options author Patrick Williams additionally presently covers the league for NHL.com and FloSports and is an everyday contributor on SiriusXM NHL Community Radio. He was the recipient of the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for his excellent protection of the league in 2016.
