With the exception of a 46-game stint with the Detroit Red Wings in 1955-56, Real Chevrefils spent his entire NHL career with the Boston Bruins in the 1950s and was one of the more popular players on the team.
Chevrefils first played in the NHL in 1951-52, dressing for 33 games with the Bruins, scoring eight times and collecting 25 points. He followed that up the next year by scoring 19 goals and 33 points while helping Boston to reach the Stanley Cup final, where they lost in five games to the rival Montreal Canadiens.
From a statistical point of view, 1956-57 was the best year for Chevrefils, who scored 31 goals and 17 assists for the Burins and once again guided them to the finals, where the lost to the Canadiens, once again dropping the best-of-seven series in five games. The two clubs met yet again in the 1958 championship, but with the same results. The one small difference being the Bruins extended the final by one game, losing to their nemesis in six games, 4-2.
Hap Emms, a longtime coach and general manager of some of the brightest junior stars ever to come out of Canada, once called Chevrefils the best player he had ever coached. "Chevy," as he was nicknamed, was known for his deft puckhandling and skating skills, had led Emms' Barrie Flyers to the Memorial Cup championship in 1951.
He was traded to the Red Wings briefly in 1955-56, but the club could not keep Chevrefils' fast-paced lifestyle in check and sent him back to the Bruins the following year. His NHL playing days were over by the age of 26, but he continued to play hockey in the minors until the conclusion of the 1963-64 season, where he had played for the IHL's Windsor Bulldogs.
