Kelly excited for return to Trois-Rivières

By JOE BABIK
ECHL Senior PR/Historical Specialist

As the 2025 Kelly Cup Finals shifts to Trois-Rivières for Game 3 on Wednesday, it will be a homecoming of sorts for ECHL Commissioner Emeritus Patrick J. Kelly.

The namesake of the ECHL championship trophy, Kelly played parts of two seasons for the first incarnation of the Trois-Rivières Lions early in his pro career. Kelly had 13 points (5g-8a) in 50 games during the 1957-58 season and returned to the team for the next season, skating in five games before being traded.

“I haven’t been back in the city since 1958, so it’s been a long time,” Kelly said. “I went to Troy, Ohio just before Christmas in 58, so this is the first time I will be back in Trois-Rivières in 67 years.”

Despite calling Trois-Rivières home for a short amount of time over his lengthy career in pro hockey, Kelly has fond memories of his stint there.

“The weather was cold, lots of snow, I remember that well,” he said. “Very few people spoke English so that was a hard adjustment. I remember anytime there was a story in the paper, I could read my name, but I didn’t know what else it said. I had to ask one of the French players what they were saying about me.”

The other memory of Trois-Rivières that stands out to Kelly is the knowledge and passion of the fans.

“The crowds would be wild sometimes,” he recalled. “I had a few fights myself and they really enjoyed those, they loved the hockey there. I think it was only about a three-thousand seat arena, which was pretty big for back in those days, but the fans there got into the game and it was a great place to be early in my hockey career.”

While he was only there for a little over a season, Trois-Rivières holds a special part in Kelly’s heart, and he is excited to get back to town for a few days this week.

“I’m sure it’s a whole new city now, and I am excited to check out the new arena,” Kelly said. “The vivid memory I have is of the St. Maurice Hotel, that’s where they put us up during training camp. It was on this little side street right off the main road, I’m not sure what is in that spot now.

“I also remember a little restaurant up the street from there going up the main street,” Kelly continued. “We used to go there every morning for breakfast, they had great food.”

Those memories will certainly come flooding back for Kelly during the next few days.

“It’s exciting to be going back, it was a big part of my life early in my pro hockey career and just to see the town again is amazing.”