For Francois Gravel, it was much easier tending goal than it has been watching his son Alexis backstop the Halifax Mooseheads to a Memorial Cup final.
“It’s really tough on the nerves,” the elder Gravel, 50, said in an interview this week in Halifax.
“It’s much easier playing than watching. When you’re playing, you’re in the action so you can control things. When you’re watching, you have absolutely no control.”
Francois, who was drafted in the third round, 58th overall by the Montreal Canadiens in 1987, was a journeyman netminder. He spent three seasons in the American Hockey League, including two games with the Halifax Citadels during the 1989-90 campaign.
He then headed overseas where he enjoyed a 12-year pro career in Europe. Gravel played three years in France before moving to Germany’s top league. Alexis was born in Berlin in 2000 during his father’s third season in the DEL with the Berlin Polar Bears.
The Gravel family moved while Alexis was still an infant to Italy, where Francois would spend six seasons in the Italian league split between Asiago and Cortina d’Ampezzo.
The Gravels returned to Canada in 2006. Francois played two more seasons in the Quebec senior league before retiring. He then turned his focus to coaching.
“When I was done in Europe, I took care of Alex on the ice and all through his minor hockey,” Francois recalled. “I tried my best to help him.
“When he learned to skate, he played one year as a defenceman. But he was always between the net and the blue-line. So it was natural for him to stay behind. Then he asked me to be a goalie and he stuck with it.
“Now, it’s different. My relationship with him, he is my son, I am his father and I’m not his coach anymore. We mostly talk about fishing, we both have the same passion for that. That’s the way we take it and I think that’s a good thing.”
With his parents in attendance at Scotiabank Centre, Alexis has parlayed a sensational QMJHL regular season and playoffs to a berth in Sunday’s Memorial Cup championship.
The 19-year-old posted a 33-13-2 record, 2.49 goals against average and .913 save percentage in 2018-19. He won 14 playoffs games (2.73 GAA, .917 percentage) as the Mooseheads came within two wins from capturing the QMJHL President Cup title.
At the Memorial Cup, Alexis turned aside 56 of 59 shots through Halifax’s first two games, victories over the Prince Albert Raiders and Guelph Storm. The Mooseheads punched their ticket to the final following a narrow 4-3 loss to the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies on Wednesday.
“It’s been unbelievable watching him,” a proud Francois said. “I’m really, really happy to have the chance to see my son follow the same passage as me. To have a chance to play in a tournament like this in this city — the best place in junior to play hockey — for me, I’m really, really lucky and proud of him.”
It’s especially gratifying after Alexis struggled last season. His GAA (3.38) and save percentage (.890) were among the worst in 2017-18 for QMJHL starters. The Mooseheads were eliminated in the second round of the ’18 league playoffs.
“Last year he went through some adversity,” Francois said of his son’s on-ice struggles last season. “But he learned a lot of stuff.
“The biggest thing for him is his passion. His passion is huge. I know when you have that passion you can do some really nice things. He improved a lot. He’s more mature. I know coach (Eric) Veilleux did really well with him. He has some confidence and he’s responded really well. Now he has the results.”
Being back in Halifax has allowed Francois to revisit some familiar stomping grounds, including his former Citadels dressing room.
“When we arrived in the dressing room, the first thing I said to my son was ‘that was my seat right there,’” Francois said with a laugh. “We took a picture with me on it.
“I loved Halifax and enjoyed my time with the (Citadels) organization. It’s one the greatest hockey towns. The people are amazing. The players who get the chance to play here are lucky. It’s so nice.”
