Cape Breton billet family to share in Marc-André Fleury's QMJHL hall induction

Marc-André Fleury played 151 games with Cape Breton's QMJHL team before moving on to a storied NHL career. He's being inducted into the QMJHL Hall of Fame on Wednesday. (Mike Sullivan/Cape Breton Eagles)Social SharingWhen Marc-André Fleury is ushered into the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Hall of Fame on Wednesday, the billet family he lived with in Cape Breton for four years as a teenager will be right beside him.

“To think when he was with us that this is where he ended up is surely amazing,” Bob Hawkins said.

Bob, his wife Angela and their two children first welcomed Fleury to their Sydney River, N.S., home when he was 15. He didn’t speak a lick of English and had never heard of the Nova Scotia island.

Drafted by the then Cape Breton Screaming Eagles in 2000, the native of Sorel, Que., went on to a storied career that includes three Stanley Cups, an Olympic gold medal and the second-most wins by a goalie in NHL history.

Fleury, now 41, played 151 games with the Cape Breton team, which later rebranded as simply the Eagles. He and four others are being inducted into the QMJHL Hall of Fame in a ceremony in Quebec City on Wednesday.

Once he got the call from the QMJHL, Fleury immediately reached out to the Hawkins family to be a part of the honour.

Fleury and the Hawkins family after the goaltender was selected first overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. (Angela Hawkins)“I showed up on their doorstep when I was 15 and they were such an incredible family to me,” Fleury said in an interview with CBC News. “We've shared a lot of good and tougher moments together with the Eagles and Sydney and we've kept in touch all these years.”

Bob and Angela said they chose to bring Fleury into their home because they wanted an older brother figure for their children, who were then 10 and six. While the young goalie didn't speak English when he arrived, he and the kids quickly bonded and their son helped him learn the language.

Fleury spent four years growing up with the family, attending birthday parties and holiday celebrations, while Bob taught him how to drive.

“Honestly, he was just like another kid in the house,” Bob said.

Fleury and the Hawkins children are shown in photographs during his years in Cape Breton. (Angela Hawkins)“He was a very sociable guy, very easy to like, enjoyed a lot of fun,” Angela said. “He was even a prankster at that time.”

After he graduated to the pros, the family kept in touch through his NHL playing days. Angela said she sent him a text message before and after every game he played.

“We have followed him throughout his entire NHL career, visiting all the rinks that he played at and got to see him play with so many other exceptional players,” Angela said. “We really enjoyed being along for the ride.”

Fleury and the Hawkins family with the Stanley Cup after the Penguins won the championship in 2009. (Angela Hawkins)Paul MacDonald, who was part of the Eagles' broadcast team when Fleury was drafted and later became franchise president, said the team recognized Fleury's talent early on, though they didn't immediately foresee a future Hall of Famer.

Fleury unexpectedly made the team straight out of training camp in his first season, and MacDonald quickly noticed his competitive drive and charisma.

“He hasn't changed at all. What you see is what you get with Marc-André,” MacDonald said.

After catching the attention of NHL scouts while starting for Canada's world junior team at the 2003 tournament in Halifax and Sydney, Fleury was selected first overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. He remains the last goaltender to be taken with the top draft pick.

Fleury won three Stanley Cups as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins and retired with the Pens after a pre-season game in 2025. (CBC)He played just 10 more games with Cape Breton before moving on to the professional ranks. After appearing in more than 1,000 NHL games with Pittsburgh, Vegas, Chicago and Minnesota, Fleury retired with the Penguins following a pre-season game in 2025.

He returned to Cape Breton last summer with his wife and three children. MacDonald opened Centre 200, where the team retired Fleury's jersey number in 2008, so the family could see where he had played.

“[It] brought back memories,” Fleury said. “To show them where I was and the house I lived in. And my jersey in the rafters, which they thought was pretty cool.”

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Ethan Hunt is a reporter for CBC Nova Scotia from Lunenburg, N.S. He regularly covers sports, the environment and mental health matters. You can reach him at ethan.hunt@cbc.ca.

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