Dean Clement Melanson (born November 19, 1973) is a Canadian retired professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the la ...

. He played 9 games in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

with the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...

and

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL) ...

between 1995 and 2001. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1993 to 2008, was spent in the minor leagues and in Europe.

Biography

Melanson was born in

Antigonish, Nova Scotia , settlement_type = Town , image_skyline = File:St Ninian's Cathedral Antigonish Spring.jpg , image_caption = St. Ninian's Cathedral , image_flag = Flag of Antigonish.pn ...

. As a youth, he played in the 1985 and 1986

Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament The Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament (french: Tournoi international de hockey pee-wee de Québec) is an annual minor ice hockey event in Quebec City. The tournament was founded in 1960 to coincide with the Quebec Winter Carnival, ...

s with a

minor ice hockey Minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body contact, vary from cla ...

team from Antigonish. Melanson was drafted in the fourth round, 80th overall, by the

in the

1992 NHL Entry Draft The 1992 NHL Entry Draft was the 30th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 20 at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec. A total of 264 players were drafted. The last active player in the NHL from this draft class was Sergei Gonchar, who retire ...

. Melanson appeared in only nine games in the NHL: five with the Sabres in the 1994–95 season and four with the

in the 2001–02 season. In his brief NHL career, Melanson went scoreless and recorded eight penalty minutes. The majority of his professional career was spent in the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

, where he won the

Calder Cup The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League. It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars. The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian mahogany. In its curr ...

in 1996 with the

Rochester Americans The Rochester Americans (colloquially known as the Amerks) are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League; the team is an owned and operated affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home games in Rochester, New York, a ...

. He also suited up for teams in the International Hockey League, Germany's

Deutsche Eishockey Liga The Deutsche Eishockey Liga (for sponsorship reasons called "PENNY Deutsche Eishockey Liga") (; English: ''German Ice Hockey League'') or DEL, is a German professional ice hockey league and the highest division in German ice hockey. Founded in ...

, the

Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey The Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey (LNAH, ''"North American Hockey League"'') is a low-level professional ice hockey league based in the Canadian province of Quebec. Teams in the LNAH compete for the Vertdure Cup. History The league was fou ...

and the

United Hockey League The United Hockey League (UHL), originally known as the Colonial Hockey League from 1991 to 1997 and last known as the International Hockey League from 2007 to 2010, was a low-level minor professional ice hockey league, with teams in the Unite ...

. He also had a spell in Italy for the

Milano Vipers Hockey Club Junior Milano Vipers was an Italian professional ice hockey team from Milan. Founded in 1998 as Hockey Club Junior Milano, was renamed Vipers in 2000. In June 2008 the organization was disbanded and replaced with Hockey Milano Rossoblu ...

. Melanson ended his professional career after playing 11 games with

British Elite Ice Hockey League The Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL), sometimes referred to as the British Elite League or, for sponsorship reasons, the Viaplay Elite League, is an ice hockey league in the United Kingdom. Formed in 2003 following the demise of the Ice Hockey ...

team the

Basingstoke Bison The Basingstoke Bison are an English Ice Hockey club from Basingstoke. They currently compete in the NIHL National League and have previously been members of the Ice Hockey Superleague and its successor the Elite Ice Hockey League. History ...

in the 2007–08 season.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

References

External links

* 1973 births Living people Binghamton Senators players Basingstoke Bison players Buffalo Sabres draft picks Buffalo Sabres players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in England Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Germany Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Italy Canadian ice hockey defencemen Canadian people of Acadian descent Chicago Wolves (IHL) players HC Milano players Ice hockey people from Nova Scotia Iserlohn Roosters players Kassel Huskies players Muskegon Fury players People from Antigonish, Nova Scotia Philadelphia Phantoms players Portland Pirates players Quebec Rafales players Rochester Americans players Saint-Hyacinthe Laser players Washington Capitals players {{canada-icehockey-defenceman-1970s-stub