French Canadian Alex Doucet talks Quebec food, culture, and his journey from the idyllic Eastern Townships to a pro hockey home in Grand Rapids.

If Griffins fans ever get the travel bug and yearn to see the birthplace of one of their favorite players, all they have to do is hop in their cars and head east.

Passing the hockey meccas of Toronto and Montreal, they will reach Sherbrooke, Quebec, the home of Griffins left wing Alex Doucet – and assistant coach Steph Julien – in about 12 hours.

Quebec City, with its towering chateau and cobblestone streets, is a couple of hours further, but visitors may want to linger in Sherbrooke, the biggest city in the Eastern Townships, which was made famous to bookish folk by Louise Penny’s massive bestselling Inspector Gamache mystery series. If Griffins fans wanted to, they could jump on one of the “Three Pines” tours, named for Penny’s fictional small town, in her books. (Obviously, they would really be on a quest to see the provenance of Doucet and Julien, plus many other Griffins players through the years.)

On the tour, they would see an idyllic landscape, dotted with rolling hills, round barns, covered bridges, misty lakes surrounded by mountains, and Mon Dieu! So much cheese! Goat cheese with habanero pepper and maple syrup, anyone? Replete with cheese factories, “sugarbushes” (maple syrup farms), and “honey houses” (bee farms), the Townships are a foodie’s paradise. 

This is why Doucet, in his second full year with the Griffins, is homesick for French Canadian food.

“My grandma’s Tourtière,” he said, aglow in the culinary memory. “It was unreal.” Tourtière, if you have not had the pleasure, is a meat pie dish originating from Quebec, usually made with minced pork, veal, or beef and potatoes, spiced with cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Wild card ingredients might include wild game meat such as bear or venison. It is a traditional part of the Christmas réveillon and New Year's Eve meal in Quebec, but Doucet was accustomed to tucking into the hearty pies all year round.

“She would make them with only ground beef and seasoning,” he said. “They always had this, this … crust.” Words fail him in any language. “Some people put potatoes in them, but not her. I swear she made them for me every two weeks."

Doucet’s grandma, Louise, died last summer at age 92. But her memory and love shaped him. “She was my biggest fan growing up; she didn’t miss a single practice from the time I was 5 until I was 12.”

Even practices?

“Every single one,” he said, grinning. 

“The last five years were hard,” said Doucet, 23. “[Grandma Louise] had Alzheimer's. But she had 87 years of a good life; she was still driving us around everywhere in her eighties.”

Louise was the matriarch of a family that continues to hold their Alexandre close and encourage him with their unflagging belief in his hockey abilities and who he is as a person.

The son of Julie Drapeau and Yves Doucet, Alex grew up as the middle son between brothers Olivier and Nicolas. Julie is a waitress at the fabled Manoir Hovey, where the five-diamond menu is titled “Ode to Quebec” and features a dessert called the “Inspector Gamache” (honey, almond, blueberry, balsam fir). Yves is a carpenter, something Doucet aspires to after hockey. 

The two were always there for their budding left winger. Early mornings, endless games in frosty arenas, equipment upgrades, skate sharpenings, and on and on … hockey became their lifestyle. “My mother always said her vacations were my tournaments.” 

Julie and Yves got to see much of Quebec and a good slice of Canada in their day. But no matter where hockey and life took their boy, they were always up for the drive.

Valley of Gold

After a stellar childhood career, Doucet went on to be part of two championship teams with Harfangs Triolet Bantam AAA in the QBAAA (Quebec Bantam) league and moved up to the Cantonniers Magog in the QMAAA (Quebec Midget) league, where he helped his team win the AAA championship.

He made his Quebec Major Junior Hockey League debut with the Foreurs – “Driller” or “Borer” in French – in the hunting, fishing, and mining town of Val-d’Or, or “Golden Valley.” Situated on what were once Anicinabe hunting grounds, Val-d’Or grew out of a gold rush in 1935. “Val-d’Or is literally built on top of gold,” hails the tourist guide. 

Doucet didn’t do much panning for precious metals, but he did strike gold with a warm and hospitable billet family and teammates who became friends for life. From the ages of 17 to 20, Doucet lived with host parents Jérôme and Mélanie, becoming part of their family. Part of his time there was during the COVID-19 pandemic, when he and his teammates “had to be tested four times before every game” and played in “bubbles.” 

Still, “I was always excited to go back to Val D’Or after the summer,” Doucet said. “Those were the best years of my life.

After a slow-burning start with the Foreurs, Doucet found the recipe for goal-scoring in the 2021-22 season, with 75 points (33 goals, 42 assists) in 68 games.

When four years passed without getting drafted, Doucet needed to make a change. His feelings were mixed, though, upon being traded to the Halifax Mooseheads midseason. “I was crying, but also excited to go to Halifax,” he said. “I wanted an opportunity with a better team.”

In an Instagram post from Dec. 21, 2021, he thanked the city of Val-d’Or for taking such good care of him. “I was lucky enough to be with several people who will mark me forever. The city of Val-d’Or will always hold a special place in my heart.”

In Halifax, Nova Scotia, it was time to upgrade his English. “My mother lived in Florida for 15 years,” he said. “She made me and my brothers watch English television so we could learn, and I had taken it in school.”

Following a 2022-23 regular season in which he totaled a whopping 58 goals, 57 assists and 115 points in 70 games between Val-d’Or and Halifax, he led the 2023 QMJHL Playoffs with 31 points in 21 games with the Mooseheads, reaching the finals. Clearly, Doucet was cooking with gas. “I needed a really good season in Halifax,” he said. And with time running out on his junior eligibility, he made it happen.

Only the Beginning

Less than three months later, on March 1, 2023, Doucet signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Detroit Red Wings. “My parents were so excited,” he said. “Never give up, keep working, and believe in yourself,” he posted to Instagram to announce his signing. “Only the beginning.”

Assigned to the Griffins, an elated Doucet played only six games before being reassigned to the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye for development.

He was disappointed to be sent to Toledo, “but it inspired me to work harder,” he said. “At a lower level, there are more touches, more play time. My confidence grew.”

Spending the majority of the 2023-24 season with the Walleye, Doucet posted 41 points (19 goals, 22 assists) and a plus-19 rating in 52 regular-season games, adding six points in 14 playoff games as Toledo reached the Western Conference Finals.

Julie and Yves were there for him at every turn, ready to encourage him even – especially – in the valley of discouragement.

“They were always positive,” he said. “They know what I can do.”

So do his coaches in Grand Rapids, following a 2024-25 season in which Doucet contributed 21 points (seven goals, 14 assists) in 64 regular-season games. “He’s very talented, with a good IQ out there,” said Julien, now in his third season with the Griffins and a fellow Québécois who grew up north of Quebec City but has called Sherbrooke home for many years. “He’s proactive, very physical. He can do everything on the ice.”

Player and coach share a special bond of culture, heritage, and identity as French Canadians, as well as a fondness for the food of their native province. 

Julien finds himself missing poutine more than Tourtière, which is, to him, “more of a Christmastime [dish].” 

For the uninitiated, poutine is a brilliant blending of three simple ingredients: French fries, fresh cheese curds, and brown gravy. It originated in Quebec in the 1950s and has become iconically Québécois and Canadian cuisine. Hot gravy is poured over fries and squeaky, melting cheese curds.

“The cheese [used in Québécois poutine] is very squishy cheese,” Julien said. “The texture is different. The sauce is important. [How it tastes comes] from the sauce.”

A shared love of poutine is just one more way Julien and Doucet connect, as fellow Canadians and French-speaking Québécois from the same halcyon region.

“We are from the same town,” said Julien, who coached in the QMJHL during Doucet’s years in the league. “I have known him since he was 15.”

With a shared language, “Maybe we open up a little bit more,” he said. “When there is a problem or you don’t feel good, you reach out to people [who speak your language]. It’s no different for a guy from Norway or Sweden.” Besides, he said, “It’s always fun to talk about Quebec.”

Julien teaches and reinforces individual forward skills. This involves video analysis as well as checking in on more personal aspects of a player’s life. “My first task is to reach the young guys on our team to make sure they are doing well off the ice,” he said. “‘Are you homesick? Are you always eating at a restaurant or do you eat at home too?’”

If he asked Alex Doucet that last question, Julien might discover that the amiable left winger has found an American classic to cherish right here in Grand Rapids. “The meatloaf at 123 [Tavern] is the best meatloaf I have had in my life.” 

Finding a favorite meal in town is one way Doucet is embracing life in Grand Rapids. His parents have come down often to see their son play, and they appreciate how clean and friendly it is here, even if most folks don’t speak French.

Now in the final year of his three-year contract, Doucet hopes to work hard and gain the trust of the coaches to make things happen on the ice.

“He is so respected by his teammates,” said Julien. “Alex always has a smile on his face, and he works so hard.” As for Doucet being re-signed at the end of this season, Julien is positive. “He has potential to be better,” he said. “And he is doing all the right things to get there.”

Speaking of getting somewhere, if visitors from Grand Rapids came to Sherbrooke, Doucet has a recommendation: the huge, 26-mile-long Magog Lake, which borders the city and also the state of Vermont. “It’s this beautiful lake, with these mountains all around it,” he said, smiling. “Definitely, we would go there first.”

Lorilee Craker is the author of 16 books, including Anne of Green Gables, My Daughter and Me, the CBA and ECPA bestseller My Journey to Heaven with Marv Besteman, the Audie Awards nominee Money Secrets of the Amish, and the New York Times bestseller Through the Storm with Lynne Spears. A native of Winnipeg, Manitoba, she lives in a century-old house in Grand Rapids, with her husband, pets, and various international students from around the world. She has loved hockey since becoming a card-carrying member of the Winnipeg Jets Junior Booster Club at age 11.