Joseph Maurice Roger Réal "Chevy" Chevrefils (May 2, 1932 – January 8, 1981) was a Canadian
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...
forward. He played in the
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
with the
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...
and
Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...
between 1951 and 1959.
Playing career
Chevrefils was a member of the 1951
Memorial Cup
The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), a consortium of three Junior ice hockey, major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tou ...
champion
Barrie Flyers
The Barrie Flyers were a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey Association from 1945 to 1960, from Barrie, Ontario. The Flyers played home games at the Barrie Arena from 1945 to 1960.
History
The Barrie Flyers junior team was founded in ...
. His stats for the OHA regular season in 1950-51 were 54 games played, 52 goals, 51 assists, for 103 total points.
[All Roads Lead to Hockey, Bill Boyd, p. 11, Key Porter Books, 2004, ] He was ranked as the second best junior hockey player in Canada, behind
Jean Béliveau
Joseph Jean Arthur Béliveau (August 31, 1931 – December 2, 2014) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played parts of 20 seasons with the National Hockey League's (NHL) Montreal Canadiens from 1950 to 1971. Inducted into the Hoc ...
of the
Quebec Citadelles
The Quebec Citadelles (French: ''Citadelles de Québec'') were a Minor ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada at the Colisée Pepsi. The name refers to the Citadelle of Quebec, a landmark forti ...
. His brother, Maurice, a one-time player with the
Johnstown Jets
The Johnstown Jets were a professional ice hockey team from Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The Jets were founded in the Eastern Hockey League, Eastern Amateur Hockey League for the 1950–51 season, playing at the newly constructed Cambria County War M ...
from the
International Hockey League, played with the
Barrie Flyers
The Barrie Flyers were a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey Association from 1945 to 1960, from Barrie, Ontario. The Flyers played home games at the Barrie Arena from 1945 to 1960.
History
The Barrie Flyers junior team was founded in ...
as well.
[All Roads Lead to Hockey, Bill Boyd, p. 35, Key Porter Books, 2004, ]
When Chevrefils became a professional, his career was affected by alcohol. His first experiences with alcohol came while playing for the
Hershey Bears
The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The Bears have played in the American Hockey League (AHL) since the 1938–39 season, making it the longest continuously operating member club of the league still ...
in 1951. While in Hershey, Chevrefils notched 20 goals and 28 assists for 48 points in just 34 games.
Chevrefils started his
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
(NHL) career with the
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...
in
1951
Events
January
* January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950).
* January 9 – The Government of the Uni ...
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
Leonard Gerald "Leo The Lion" Labine (July 22, 1931 – February 25, 2005) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. A native of Temiskaming Shores, Haileybury, Ontario, Labine played for teams in the National Hockey League, NHL, Western Ho ...
, who had also played with Chevrefils on the
Barrie Flyers
The Barrie Flyers were a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey Association from 1945 to 1960, from Barrie, Ontario. The Flyers played home games at the Barrie Arena from 1945 to 1960.
History
The Barrie Flyers junior team was founded in ...
, mentioned that Chevrefils would be hung over in the dressing room.
[All Roads Lead to Hockey, Bill Boyd, p. 31, Key Porter Books, 2004, ] According to Lou Bendo, who played on Chevrefils’s last team, the 1963
Allan Cup
The Allan Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the senior ice hockey champions of Canada. It was donated by Sir Montagu Allan of Ravenscrag, Montreal, and has been competed for since 1909. It was most recently won by the Wentworth Gryphins ...
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.
[All Roads Lead to Hockey, Bill Boyd, p. 33, Key Porter Books, 2004, ]
Despite the drinking issues, Chevrefils was also known for a sense of humour. In the 1951
Memorial Cup
The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), a consortium of three Junior ice hockey, major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tou ...
playoffs against the
Quebec Citadelles
The Quebec Citadelles (French: ''Citadelles de Québec'') were a Minor ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada at the Colisée Pepsi. The name refers to the Citadelle of Quebec, a landmark forti ...
,
Jean Béliveau
Joseph Jean Arthur Béliveau (August 31, 1931 – December 2, 2014) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played parts of 20 seasons with the National Hockey League's (NHL) Montreal Canadiens from 1950 to 1971. Inducted into the Hoc ...
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.”
In 1955,
Lynn Patrick
Joseph Lynn Patrick (February 3, 1912 – January 26, 1980) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and executive. As a player, Patrick played ten seasons in the National Hockey League for the New York Rangers. He was twice named to the NHL ...
, who had succeeded
Art Ross
Arthur Howey Ross (January 13, 1885 – August 5, 1964) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and corporate officer, executive from 1905 until 1954. Regarded as one of the best defenders of his era by his peers, he was one of the first t ...
as General Manager of the
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...
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."
[All Roads Lead to Hockey, Bill Boyd, p. 30, Key Porter Books, 2004, ] In 1955, the Bruins traded him to the
Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...
, after being part of the trade for
Terry Sawchuk
Terrance Gordon Sawchuk (December 28, 1929 – May 31, 1970) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played 21 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Detroit Red Wings, Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Los Angeles Kin ...
.
Jack Adams
John James "Jolly Jack" Adams (June 14, 1894 – May 1, 1968) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player, coach, and general manager in the National Hockey League and Pacific Coast Hockey Association. He played for the Toronto Arenas, Vancouv ...
, the Detroit General Manager tried to get Chevrefils to go to
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is a global, peer-led Mutual aid, mutual-aid fellowship focused on an abstinence-based recovery model from alcoholism through its spiritually inclined twelve-step program. AA's Twelve Traditions, besides emphasizing anon ...
. Reports indicated that Adams hired private detectives to keep tabs on Chevrefils. Out of frustration, Adams traded Chevrefils back to Boston in January 1956.
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
An all-star game is an exhibition game that showcases the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or division, bu ...
and was named to the
NHL Second All-Star Team
The National Hockey League All-Star teams were first named at the end of the 1930–31 NHL season, to honor the best performers over the season at each position.
Representatives of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association vote for the all-st ...
.
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.
He would retire after the
1959
Events
January
* January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance.
* January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...
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
The Los Angeles Blades were a professional inline hockey team based in Los Angeles, California. The Blades played in Roller Hockey International from 1993–1997 and played their home games at the Great Western Forum.
Two other franchises have u ...
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.
Eventually, the two separated in 1962; they had six children.
[All Roads Lead to Hockey, Bill Boyd, p. 38, Key Porter Books, 2004, ]
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.
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.
Chevrefils died on January 8, 1981, at Windsor’s Hotel-Dieu Hospital.
[All Roads Lead to Hockey, Bill Boyd, p. 40, Key Porter Books, 2004, ] 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.
[All Roads Lead to Hockey, Bill Boyd, p. 41, Key Porter Books, 2004, ]
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.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chevreflis, Real
1932 births
1981 deaths
Barrie Flyers players
Boston Bruins players
Canadian ice hockey forwards
Detroit Red Wings players
Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States
Franco-Ontarian people
Hershey Bears players
Kingston Frontenacs (EPHL) players
Los Angeles Blades (WHL) players
Ontario Hockey Association Senior A League (1890–1979) players
Providence Reds players
Quebec Aces (QSHL) players
San Francisco Seals (ice hockey) players
Ice hockey people from Timmins
Springfield Indians players
Sudbury Wolves (EPHL) players
Windsor Bulldogs (1963–1964) players
Winnipeg Warriors (minor pro) players
20th-century Canadian sportsmen