Jump to content

Roland Melanson

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Roland Melanson
Melanson with the New York Islanders in 1984
Born (1960-06-28) June 28, 1960 (age 65)
Shediac, New Brunswick, Canada [notes 1]
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position Goaltender
Caught Left
Played for New York Islanders
Minnesota North Stars
Los Angeles Kings
New Jersey Devils
Montreal Canadiens
NHL draft 59th overall, 1979
New York Islanders
Playing career 1977–1994

Roland "Rollie the Goalie" Joseph Melanson (born June 28, 1960) is a Canadian ice hockey coach and former goaltender in the National Hockey League (NHL). After a lengthy career in the NHL with the New York Islanders, Minnesota North Stars, Los Angeles Kings, New Jersey Devils, and Montreal Canadiens, Melanson began working as a goaltending coach.

While playing for the Indianapolis Checkers in 1981, Melanson won the Ken McKenzie Trophy as rookie of the year of the Central Hockey League. Along with Billy Smith, Melanson won the William M. Jennings Trophy in the 1982–83 season, and he was also named to the NHL All-Star Second Team. He also won three consecutive Stanley Cups in 1981, 1982 and 1983.

Early life

[edit]

Melanson was born on June 28, 1960,[2] in Shediac, New Brunswick[1] to parents Alphe and Albertine (née Maillet) Melanson.[3][4] Although he started skating in Moncton, Melanson only joined an organized hockey team as a goaltender when his family moved to Waltham, Massachusetts.[5] He spent four years in the United States before his family moved back to New Brunswick.[1] Due to his success in Waltham, Melanson was able to join a stronger and older hockey team once back in New Brunswick.[5]

Career

[edit]

Junior

[edit]

Melanson played minor ice hockey with the Moncton Century Flyers AAA team during the 1976-77 season. He recorded 11 shutouts during the season to help the Flyers finish with a 33–1 record.[6] He also posted a shutout in the final game of the 1976 Moncton Invitational Midget Hockey Tournament to help the Flyers beat Fredericton 3–0.[7] In the same season, he also competed with the Flyers in the 1977 Wrigley Cup midget hockey championships.[8] While the Flyers finished in fourth place, Melanson was named Wrigley Cup MVP for maintaining a 2.33 goals against average (GAA).[6] As of 2025, Melanson's 4–1–1 preliminary round record still stands as the best record for a New Brunswick team at the National Midget Championship.[9] Due to his play during the tournament, Melanson earned the attention of Windsor Spitfires coach Wayne Maxner.[10] He subsequently signed a contract with the Spitfires to play with them in the Ontario Junior Hockey League.[11]

Professional

[edit]

After participating in the Islanders' training camp, Melanson was reassigned to their minor league affiliate, the Indianapolis Checkers, to start the 1980–81 season.[12] Upon joining the Checkers, Melanson played in their first nine games and led them to a 7–1–1 start while also maintaining a league-leading 2.40 GAA.[13] After being called up to the NHL on November 4, 1980,[14] Melanson made his NHL debut the following night against Detroit Red Wings. He stopped 29 of 33 shots to lead the Islanders to a 6–4 win.[15] He remained unbeaten through his next five games, becoming the first NHL rookie goaltender of the season to maintain an unbeaten streak.[16] Melanson also received praise from teammates and opposing coaches during this stretch and was repeatedly named the First Star of the Game.[17] However, he was returned to the CHL on November 16 after veteran goaltender Chico Resch recovered from his injury. As neither of the Islanders veteran goaltenders were eligible to be reassigned to the CHL, the team was forced to return Melanson once they both recovered.[18]

Personal life

[edit]

Melanson married Janice LeBlanc in July 1981.[19] They had two children together before divorcing.[20]

Career statistics

[edit]

Regular season and playoffs

[edit]
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV%
1976–77 Moncton Flyers NBAHA 70 — — — 4198 147 14 2.09 — 6 4 1 1 360 14 0 2.33 —
1977–78 Windsor Spitfires OMJHL 44 — — — 2592 195 1 4.51 — 5 1 2 1 258 13 1 3.02 —
1978–79 Windsor Spitfires OMJHL 62 — — — 3461 254 1 4.40 — 7 — — — 392 31 0 4.74 —
1979–80 Windsor Spitfires OMJHL 22 11 8 0 1099 90 0 4.91 — — — — — — — — — —
1979–80 Oshawa Generals OMJHL 38 26 12 0 2240 136 3 3.64 — 7 3 4 0 420 32 0 4.57 —
1980–81 New York Islanders NHL 11 8 1 1 620 32 0 3.10 .895 3 1 0 — 92 6 0 3.91 .882
1980–81 Indianapolis Checkers CHL 52 31 16 3 3056 131 2 2.57 — — — — — — — — — —
1981–82 New York Islanders NHL 36 22 7 6 2115 114 0 3.23 .896 3 0 1 — 64 5 0 4.69 .828
1982–83 New York Islanders NHL 44 24 12 5 2460 109 1 2.66 .910 5 2 2 — 238 10 0 2.52 .913
1983–84 New York Islanders NHL 37 20 11 2 2019 110 0 3.27 .903 6 0 1 — 87 5 0 3.45 .844
1984–85 New York Islanders NHL 8 3 3 0 425 35 0 4.94 .864 — — — — — — — — —
1984–85 Minnesota North Stars NHL 20 5 10 3 1142 78 0 4.10 .867 — — — — — — — — —
1985–86 Minnesota North Stars NHL 6 2 1 2 325 24 0 4.43 .863 — — — — — — — — —
1985–86 Los Angeles Kings NHL 22 4 16 1 1246 87 0 4.19 .867 — — — — — — — — —
1985–86 New Haven Nighthawks AHL 3 1 2 0 179 13 0 4.36 .882 — — — — — — — — —
1986–87 Los Angeles Kings NHL 46 18 21 6 2734 168 1 3.69 .882 5 1 4 — 260 24 0 5.54 .844
1987–88 Los Angeles Kings NHL 47 17 20 7 2675 195 2 4.37 .860 1 0 1 — 60 9 0 9.00 .820
1988–89 Los Angeles Kings NHL 4 1 1 0 178 19 0 6.42 .826 — — — — — — — — —
1988–89 New Haven Nighthawks AHL 29 11 15 3 1734 106 1 3.67 .887 17 9 8 — 1019 74 1 4.36 —
1989–90 Utica Devils AHL 48 24 19 3 2737 167 1 3.66 .875 5 1 4 — 298 20 0 4.03 —
1990–91 New Jersey Devils NHL 1 0 0 0 20 2 0 6.00 .714 — — — — — — — — —
1990–91 Utica Devils AHL 54 23 28 1 3058 208 0 4.08 .868 — — — — — — — — —
1991–92 Montreal Canadiens NHL 9 5 3 0 492 22 2 2.68 .887 — — — — — — — — —
1992–93 Brantford Smoke ColHL 14 10 4 0 811 54 1 4.00 — 15 11 3 — 844 50 0 3.55 —
1993–94 Saint John Flames AHL 7 1 2 0 270 20 0 4.44 .800 — — — — — — — — —
NHL totals 291 129 106 33 16,450 995 6 3.63 .883 23 4 9 — 801 59 0 4.42 .863

"Melanson's stats". The Goaltender Home Page. Retrieved 2017-09-22.

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Although many sources mistakenly list Moncton as his birthplace[1]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c "Will Shediac goalie make the big time?". Saint John Times Globe. April 2, 1981. Retrieved May 21, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Roland Melanson". Elite Prospects. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
  3. ^ "Obituary for Alphe Melanson". The Times-Transcript. November 6, 1991. Retrieved May 21, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Melanson's father dies, 67". The Times-Transcript. November 6, 1991. Retrieved May 21, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b Fischler, Stan (October 22, 2021). "Maven's Memories: Rollie Melanson, The Forgotten Hero". nhl.com. National Hockey League. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
  6. ^ a b Biggs, Tom (February 4, 1977). "Melanson surprised with award but doesn't plan to change". The Times-Transcript. Retrieved May 21, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Flyers Capture Hockey Tourney". Telegraph-Journal. December 6, 1976. Retrieved May 21, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Meet Moncton's representatives". The Moncton Transcript. January 22, 1977. Retrieved May 21, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "TELUS40 - 35-31". hockeycanada.ca. Hockey Canada. Archived from the original on April 22, 2025. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
  10. ^ "Sawchuck made it big, Hall made it big and Maxner says Rollie will too". The Times-Transcript. November 2, 1977. Retrieved May 21, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Flyers' pair sign OHA pacts". The Times-Transcript. June 10, 1977. Retrieved May 21, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  12. ^ McLaughlin, Gerard (November 6, 1980). "Islanders taking Rollie seriously now". The Times-Transcript. Retrieved September 28, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  13. ^ McLaughlin, Gerard (October 31, 1980). "Stingy Melanson has Checkers flying high". The Times-Transcript. Retrieved September 28, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Hockey". Hartford Courant. November 5, 1980. Retrieved May 21, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Melanson is a winner in NHL". The Times-Transcript. November 5, 1980. Retrieved May 21, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  16. ^ Moriarty, Tim (November 15, 1980). "For Melanson, the Eyes Have It". Newsday. Retrieved September 28, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  17. ^ Trainor, Howie (November 15, 1980). "Roland Melanson: He Wants To Stay Around". Telegraph-Journal. Retrieved September 28, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  18. ^ Moriarty, Tim (November 17, 1980). "Melanson's Demotion: 'We Had No Choice'". Newsday. Retrieved September 28, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "Wedding bells included in Roland's busy summer". The Moncton Transcript. July 8, 1981. Retrieved May 21, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  20. ^ Rubinstein, Dan (June 13, 1997). "'This is the chance of a lifetime'". Telegraph-Journal. Retrieved May 21, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roland_Melanson&oldid=1316397693"