A road well-travelled
Alex Drover’s journey to the QMJHL included stops in Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and U.S.
Alex Drover’s serpentine path to the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League is one the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles forward doesn’t regret.
Over the course of his young life, Drover has spent time playing hockey in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia as well as the United States.
Despite the hustle and bustle of moving around Atlantic Canada and the U.S., Drover wouldn’t change a thing.
“I find I make friends pretty easy and moving around you get to meet new people, see new places — I’ve been around everywhere,” laughed Drover.
Drover was born in Port aux Basques, N.L., a community he called home until he was nine years old. He later moved to Torbay, N.L., after his parents, Rick and Valerie, were assigned to the St. John’s area for work with the Canadian Coast Guard.
During that time, Drover played minor hockey with the Port aux Basques Minor Hockey Association as well as the Northeast Minor Hockey Association.
“Newfoundland is an amazing spot,” said Drover. “I can’t say enough about Port aux Basques minor hockey; there were a lot of great coaches there and that’s where I began my career.”
The Drover family later moved to the Hammonds Plains area of the Halifax Regional Municipality when Rick and Valerie were assigned to Halifax’s coast guard location.
“When we moved to the St. John’s area, there was a bigger pool of players (to compete against) and I kept getting better,” said Drover. “When we came to Nova Scotia it was an even bigger pool, so it was a big jump, but I kept working at it and kept getting better.”
During the 2015-16 season, Drover played with the Bedford Barons of the Nova Scotia Major Bantam Hockey League, scoring 20 goals and 32 points in 31 games.
The following season, Drover
made the move to Massachusetts to play with Hillside prep school and the Boston Jr. Bruins, an under-16 hockey program in the United States Premier Hockey League.
“I was at a tournament in Boston and I was scouted by the prep school and decided to go,” said Drover of the decision to play in the U.S.
“I was fortunate enough to play in two leagues — the prep school league was great and the USPHL was also good, so it helped with my development.”
Drover returned to Nova Scotia for the 2017-18 season, playing with the Halifax McDonald’s under head coach Tim Boyce. He went on to notch 27 goals and 57 points in 36 games, finishing second in Nova Scotia Eastlink Major Midget Hockey League in points.
“The McDonald’s is a great organization with a great coaching staff and players,” said Drover. “I loved my time with them and they really helped me get drafted as high as I did.”
In June, Drover was selected No. 10 overall in the first-round of the QMJHL Entry Draft by the Screaming Eagles — a moment he will never forget.
“The whole year I worked as hard as I could to be able to get drafted, and to be selected so high was an amazing experience,” said Drover, recalling the selection.
“Hearing my name called by Cape Breton, walking up on stage, it was a big relief because as a player you’re sitting in your seat, your knees are shaking and you’re nervous, so to finally get picked, especially by the Screaming Eagles, I couldn’t have been happier.”
Drover attended the Screaming Eagles training camp in
August and impressed the coaching staff, finishing the preseason with four assists and eventually cracking the team’s lineup.
Today, Drover, whose parents attended the Coast Guard College in Westmount, has a goal and five assists for six points in 11 games in his rookie campaign.
“I feel like I’m getting better every day,” said Drover. “This is a fast league, so I’m trying my best to keep up and eventually get to the next level.”
In July, Drover was among
111 players invited to attend Hockey Canada’s national under-17 development camp in Calgary, Alta.
Hockey Canada recently announced the 66 players who will represent the country at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in Saint John and Quispamsis, N.B. next month. Unfortunately, Drover was not one of the players selected, but that hasn’t discouraged the 16-year-old — it has motivated him.
“I’m going to work hard to get there next year and show Hockey Canada that I deserve to be there — when the U18 camp is chosen next year, I want to be there.”
Drover and the Screaming Eagles will be in action tonight when the team hosts the Halifax Mooseheads in the Pink at the Rink game at 7 p.m. at Centre 200 in Sydney.