Patrick Williams, TheAHL.com Features Writer
Whether it was his fresh-faced, clean-cut 1960’s look with the Quebec Aces, his 70’s-style mustache with the Rochester Americans, or the proud father and grandfather going into the AHL Hall of Fame this week, the pictures speak to just how long René Drolet has had a connection to the American Hockey League.
Hockey has taken Drolet to a lot of different places in his 80 years. His hometown of Quebec City. Richmond, Va., which had never had pro hockey before. Rochester, one of the AHL’s cornerstone cities. Philadelphia and Detroit in the NHL. The stands of Place Bell to watch the Laval Rocket. And on Monday, Palm Desert, Calif., for his induction among the AHL’s legends.
Standing 5-foot-7, and playing in an era with far fewer NHL opportunities than today, Drolet had a difficult path to any NHL work. But he made it, playing one game for the Flyers in 1972 and one more for the Red Wings in 1974. And he was a star in the American League, where he broke in full-time with the Quebec Aces in 1966-67 before moving on to the Richmond Robins, Virginia Wings and Rochester Americans.
By the time he retired in 1978, Drolet had compiled 741 points (298 goals, 443 assists) in 840 AHL games.
Riding alongside him the entire way was his wife, 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 in the American South; daughter Julie learned the language at school. René and Louise got help picking it up by watching TV shows like The Price is Right and Let’s Make a Deal. Socializing with players’ wives and girlfriends, they became even more fluent and comfortable; Julie remains in touch with family friends from that time.
“The people there, they were really good for us,” Drolet said. “We made some great friends there… We were family.”
When the Robins opened Richmond Coliseum in October 1971, hockey was brand-new to the city. The AHL was moving into new markets, bringing an unfamiliar sport to people nonetheless eager to embrace it. And immediately it became clear that the atmosphere there would be different from their years in Quebec.
“The ladies in long dresses, the men in tuxedos, they were coming to see the show,” Drolet said, laughing as he recalled the opening-night scene. “My wife couldn’t believe it.”
But hockey caught on quickly. The Robins never found a lot of success in the standings, but they helped to prepare prospects for future success with the Flyers, who would win the Stanley Cup in 1974 and 1975. Richmond built rivalries with Hershey – “If I would have asked for a trade,” Drolet said, “I would have asked to be traded to Hershey. We played there most of the time on Saturday nights, and it was a full house all of the time.” – the Baltimore Clippers, and their new neighbors in Norfolk, the Tidewater (later Virginia) Wings.
And year after year – 10 seasons in a row, in fact – Drolet scored 20 or more goals. In four of those seasons, he crossed the 30-goal mark, including a career-best 34 with the Robins in 1972-73.
Drolet was an important key to the success of the AHL in so-called non-traditional cities. Half a century later the sport has spread across the United States – including to the Coachella Valley, which like Richmond had never hosted hockey before the Firebirds’ arrival in 2022. So when Drolet got his first look at the state-of-the-art Acrisure Arena, he couldn’t help but be struck by how far the league has come since his playing days in rinks circled with chicken wire rather than Plexiglass.
The AHL’s talent also stands out. When he attended a game at Place Bell in Laval two years ago, he came away impressed.
“I couldn’t believe how fast it was,” Drolet said.
People like Drolet helped the AHL become what it is today. He turned pro in 1965, and he and Louise married. After a long career in business following his playing days, today Drolet is fully 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 University in Montreal; Julie is a registered nurse at Dawson College, Nicolas is an administrator in McGill’s dental school, and Veronica works for the Montreal Alliance of the Canadian Elite Basketball League.
Monday’s ceremony brought back many memories for Drolet. He also noted in his speech that there were no video clips in his induction montage, because when he played “it was just pictures.”
Those playing days were a long time ago. But they helped to bring his family to where they are today. All those years in the AHL, that move to Richmond to try something outside of their comfort zone, still leave Drolet smiling. And while he is proud of his playing career, it’s his loved one who animate him most.
“I will always be proud to be an American Hockey League player and Hall of Famer,” he said. “My hockey career has been good for me. But it has been great for my family.”
On the American Hockey League beat for two decades, TheAHL.com features writer Patrick Williams also currently covers the league for NHL.com and FloSports and is a regular contributor on SiriusXM NHL Network Radio. He was the recipient of the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for his outstanding coverage of the league in 2016.