Drouin's rise in the NHL happened slowly.
As a 17-year-old, Drouin failed to make the roster to start the season with Halifax in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, despite being the second pick in the QMJHL entry draft. Drouin returned to play AAA midget hockey until he was called up by Halifax Dec. 9, 2011.
Drouin's rise in the NHL happened slowly.
As a 17-year-old, Drouin failed to make the roster to start the season with Halifax in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, despite being the second pick in the QMJHL entry draft. Drouin returned to play AAA midget hockey until he was called up by Halifax Dec. 9, 2011.
The forward made an immediate impact, getting two assists, including the primary assist on the winning goal, in his first game. From that point, Drouin proved to be one of the top players in junior hockey.
After helping lead Canada to a gold medal at the Ivan Hlinka Under-18 tournament in August 2012, Drouin would pair with Nathan MacKinnon to form a dangerous forward duo in juniors, helping lead Halifax to the Memorial Cup in 2013.
Drouin was named player of the year in the Canadian Hockey League, which encompasses three junior leagues - the Ontario Hockey League, Western Hockey League and the QMJHL. He was then chosen with the No. 3 pick by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2013 NHL Draft, two spots behind his Halifax linemate MacKinnon, who was picked by the Colorado Avalanche. Drouin was among the final cuts in his first training camp with the Lightning and was returned to Halifax for another season. He finished with 108 points in 46 games in 2013-14 and had 41 points in 16 playoff games.
He joined the Lightning in the 2014-15 season, playing in 70 games, and enjoyed a breakthrough in the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs, when he had 14 points in 17 games, including four goals in the Eastern Conference Final.
On June 15, 2017, he was traded to the Montreal Canadiens. He had 99 points (31 goals, 68 assists) in his first two seasons in Montreal.
NOTES & TRANSACTIONS
- QMJHL First All-Star Team (2013, 2014)
- QMJHL Player of the Year (2013)
- Canadian Major Junior Player of the Year (2013)
- Traded to Montreal by Tampa Bay with a conditional 6th round pick in 2018 NHL Draft for Mikhail Sergachev and a conditional 2nd round pick in 2018 NHL Draft June 15, 2017.
