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Réal Chevrefils

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Réal Chevrefils
Born (1932-05-02)May 2, 1932
Timmins, Ontario, Canada
Died January 8, 1981(1981-01-08) (aged 48)
Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight 180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb)
Position Left wing
Shot Left
Played for Boston Bruins
Detroit Red Wings
Playing career 1951–1964

Joseph Maurice Roger Réal "Chevy" Chevrefils (May 2, 1932 – January 8, 1981) was a Canadian ice hockey forward. He played in the National Hockey League with the Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings between 1951 and 1959.

Playing career

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Chevrefils was a member of the 1951 Memorial Cup champion Barrie Flyers. His stats for the OHA regular season in 1950-51 were 54 games played, 52 goals, 51 assists, for 103 total points.[1] He was ranked as the second best junior hockey player in Canada, behind Jean Béliveau of the Quebec Citadelles. His brother, Maurice, a one-time player with the Johnstown Jets from the International Hockey League, played with the Barrie Flyers as well.[2]

When Chevrefils became a professional, his career was affected by alcohol. His first experiences with alcohol came while playing for the Hershey Bears in 1951. While in Hershey, Chevrefils notched 20 goals and 28 assists for 48 points in just 34 games.[1] Chevrefils started his National Hockey League (NHL) career with the Boston Bruins in 1951 too.

Chevrefils scored his first NHL goal at Chicago Stadium on February 17, 1952 in the first period of Boston's 5-2 victory. He notched his second gal in the same game.

Bruins’ teammates such as Leo Labine, who had also played with Chevrefils on the Barrie Flyers, mentioned that Chevrefils would be hung over in the dressing room.[3] According to Lou Bendo, who played on Chevrefils’s last team, the 1963 Allan Cup winning Windsor Bulldogs, the Bruins organization felt Chevy was too small at 170 pounds and asked him to bulk up by having a few beers with supper.[4]

Despite the drinking issues, Chevrefils was also known for a sense of humour. In the 1951 Memorial Cup playoffs against the Quebec Citadelles, Jean Béliveau shot the puck so hard that it went through the net. The officials did not see it, and Chevrefils skated up to Beliveau and said, “Hey, big Jean, don’t shoot so hard next time.” [5]

In 1955, Lynn Patrick, who had succeeded Art Ross as General Manager of the Boston Bruins predicted that Chevrefils "...will be an all-star within three years, and within five years, he’ll be one of the best left wings ever to play in the league."[6] In 1955, the Bruins traded him to the Detroit Red Wings, after being part of the trade for Terry Sawchuk.[4]

Jack Adams, the Detroit General Manager tried to get Chevrefils to go to Alcoholics Anonymous. Reports indicated that Adams hired private detectives to keep tabs on Chevrefils. Out of frustration, Adams traded Chevrefils back to Boston in January 1956.[4]

Chevrefils played only one full, injury free season in 1956–57. He had scored 31 goals, was selected to play in the All-Star Game and was named to the NHL Second All-Star Team.[6] Over the next 2 seasons, Chevrefils only scored 10 goals, and by his 27th birthday, was out of the NHL. In the end, he had scored 104 goals in 387 regular season games, which were spread over parts of 8 seasons (1951–52 to 1958–59) and scored 5 more goals in 30 playoff games.[3] He would retire after the 1959 season.

Chevrefils was married to Claudette Roy, but the two had a troubled relationship. This was exemplified when Chevrefils played for the Los Angeles Blades with childhood friend, Danny Belisle. The team owners flew out Claudette to look after Chevy. The result was that the two of them would drink and fight.[2] Eventually, the two separated in 1962; they had six children.[7]

In later years, Chevrefils lived in Windsor and had qualified for an NHL pension worth $130 a month but received an extra $200 a month from a special fund for needy ex-players, courtesy of Jimmy Skinner, an executive with the Detroit Red Wings.[7] A lot of his time was spent at Windsor’s Downtown Mission. He would shovel snow with other men for less than a dollar an hour.[8]

Chevrefils died on January 8, 1981, at Windsor’s Hotel-Dieu Hospital.[9] At the funeral, six of his pallbearers were former teammates with the Windsor Bulldogs, including Lou Bendo and Jack Costello, who was on a hockey tour of Europe with Chevrefils.[10] On his grave, a small stone lies flat and reads: "Chevy, number 12, May 2, 1932-January 8, 1981". On an upper corner is the Boston Bruins emblem.[10]

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1948–49 Barrie Flyers OHA 43 13 13 26 36 8 6 7 13 16
1948–49 Barrie Flyers M-Cup — — — — — 7 8 2 10 8
1949–50 Barrie Flyers OHA 48 27 32 59 95 9 6 7 13 16
1950–51 Barrie Flyers OHA 54 52 51 103 104 12 14 11 25 16
1950–51 Barrie Flyers M-Cup — — — — — 11 9 10 19 14
1951–52 Boston Bruins NHL 33 8 17 25 8 7 1 1 2 6
1951–52 Hershey Bears AHL 34 20 28 48 14 — — — — —
1952–53 Boston Bruins NHL 69 19 14 33 44 7 0 1 1 6
1953–54 Boston Bruins NHL 14 4 1 5 2 — — — — —
1954–55 Boston Bruins NHL 64 18 22 40 30 5 2 1 3 4
1955–56 Detroit Red Wings NHL 38 3 4 7 24 — — — — —
1955–56 Boston Bruins NHL 25 11 8 19 10 — — — — —
1956–57 Boston Bruins NHL 70 31 17 48 38 10 2 1 3 4
1957–58 Boston Bruins NHL 44 9 9 18 21 1 0 0 0 0
1957–58 Springfield Indians AHL 15 7 8 15 0 11 0 3 3 2
1958–59 Boston Bruins NHL 30 1 5 6 8 — — — — —
1958–59 Providence Reds AHL 6 1 1 2 0 — — — — —
1958–59 Quebec Aces QHL 12 2 7 9 6 — — — — —
1959–60 Sudbury Wolves EPHL 65 23 36 59 26 14 6 6 12 4
1960–61 Kingston Frontenacs EPHL 37 16 20 36 16 — — — — —
1960–61 Winnipeg Warriors WHL 19 6 7 13 2 — — — — —
1961–62 Los Angeles Blades WHL 69 22 32 54 12 — — — — —
1962–63 San Francisco Seals WHL 6 1 1 2 0 — — — — —
1962–63 Windsor Bulldogs OHA Sr 42 25 48 73 18 — — — — —
1962–63 Windsor Bulldogs Al-Cup — — — — — 9 4 7 11 2
1963–64 Windsor Bulldogs IHL 48 19 22 41 8 6 2 2 4 2
NHL totals 387 104 97 201 185 30 5 4 9 20

References

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  1. ^ a b All Roads Lead to Hockey, Bill Boyd, p. 11, Key Porter Books, 2004, ISBN 1-55263-618-6
  2. ^ a b All Roads Lead to Hockey, Bill Boyd, p. 35, Key Porter Books, 2004, ISBN 1-55263-618-6
  3. ^ a b All Roads Lead to Hockey, Bill Boyd, p. 31, Key Porter Books, 2004, ISBN 1-55263-618-6
  4. ^ a b c All Roads Lead to Hockey, Bill Boyd, p. 33, Key Porter Books, 2004, ISBN 1-55263-618-6
  5. ^ All Roads Lead to Hockey, Bill Boyd, p. 34, Key Porter Books, 2004, ISBN 1-55263-618-6
  6. ^ a b All Roads Lead to Hockey, Bill Boyd, p. 30, Key Porter Books, 2004, ISBN 1-55263-618-6
  7. ^ a b All Roads Lead to Hockey, Bill Boyd, p. 38, Key Porter Books, 2004, ISBN 1-55263-618-6
  8. ^ All Roads Lead to Hockey, Bill Boyd, p. 39, Key Porter Books, 2004, ISBN 1-55263-618-6
  9. ^ All Roads Lead to Hockey, Bill Boyd, p. 40, Key Porter Books, 2004, ISBN 1-55263-618-6
  10. ^ a b All Roads Lead to Hockey, Bill Boyd, p. 41, Key Porter Books, 2004, ISBN 1-55263-618-6
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