Scott Edgar Mellanby (born June 11, 1966) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

former 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 ...

player, coach, and executive. He primarily played

right wing Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authori ...

throughout his NHL career, on occasion shifting over to the left side. He is the son of former ''

Hockey Night in Canada CBC Television has aired National Hockey League (NHL) broadcasts under the ''Hockey Night in Canada'' (often abbreviated ''Hockey Night'' or ''HNiC'') brand that is primarily associated with its Saturday night NHL broadcasts throughout its hi ...

'' producer

Ralph Mellanby Ralph Mellanby (August 22, 1934 – January 29, 2022) was a Canadian sportscaster and television producer, who was the executive producer of ''Hockey Night in Canada'' broadcasts from 1966 to 1985 and on the production team for various Olympic G ...

Playing career

Amateur

As a youth, Mellanby played in the 1979

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, ...

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 c ...

team from

Mississauga Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popul ...

Collegiate

Mellanby was selected 27th overall by the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Wells ...

in the

1984 NHL Entry Draft The 1984 NHL Entry Draft was the 22nd NHL Entry Draft. It took place on June 9, 1984, at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec. The 1984 Entry Draft is noted for the unusually high number of future Hall of Famers picked, particularly in lower ...

. After being drafted, Mellanby went to the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...

where he played for two seasons. While there, he also competed with Canada's National Hockey Team. He finished his collegiate career with 35 goals and 82 points in 72 games.

Professional

After his second season in the

WCHA The Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) is a college athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a women's ice hockey-only conference. From 1951 to 1999, it operated a ...

was finished, he promptly played his first two NHL games. He made his NHL debut on March 22, 1986 against the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

. In 1989, Mellanby suffered a serious injury in a barroom brawl when he tried to help a friend and he wound up getting a severe cut from a broken beer bottle on his left arm. The cut sliced four tendons, a nerve and an artery in the arm. Mellanby would play for Philadelphia until the summer of 1991, when he was traded to the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

in a 6-player deal that included

Jari Kurri Jari Pekka Kurri (; born May 18, 1960) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey winger and a five-time Stanley Cup champion. In 2001, he became the first Finnish player to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. In 2017 Kurri was named on ...

going to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

(though Kurri was traded to the

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

the same day). Mellanby was left unprotected by the

in the 1993 NHL Expansion Draft, allowing him to be claimed by the new

Florida Panthers The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

. This was the team where Mellanby would have his best years. In fact he became a fan favorite in Florida when he killed a rat with his hockey stick in the team dressing room, spawning the "

rat trick The rat trick was a celebration performed by fans of the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL) during their 1995–96 season, in which plastic rats were thrown onto the ice to celebrate goals. The term, a play on hat trick, was coi ...

" craze, where fans would litter the ice with thousands of plastic rats after each Panthers goal. He also scored the Panthers' first ever goal in franchise history on October 9, 1993 and played in the 1996 All-Star game. Mellanby was traded to the

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the ...

in February 2001, and the move revitalized his career. He scored 57 points during the 2002–03 season, his highest total since 1996. Mellanby then signed as a free agent with the

Atlanta Thrashers The Atlanta Thrashers were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta. Atlanta was granted a franchise in the National Hockey League (NHL) on June 25, 1997, and became the League's 28th franchise when it began play in the 1999–2000 seaso ...

in the summer of 2004 and he re-signed with Atlanta for the 2006–07 season. On November 23, 2006, he was suspended one game for a fight between the Thrashers and the Washington Capitals.

Retirement

Mellanby announced his retirement on 24 April 2007, becoming the first player to retire as a Thrashers captain (the four previous Thrashers captains, were either traded or signed elsewhere via free-agency). Mellanby left the game having played the 3rd most NHL games (1431) without a

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

victory, only behind

Phil Housley Phillip Francis Housley (born March 9, 1964) is an American professional ice hockey coach and former player. He most recently served an assistant coach for the Arizona Coyotes of the National Hockey League (NHL) from 2019 to 2022. Housley was th ...

(1495) and

Mike Gartner Michael Alfred Gartner (born October 29, 1959) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger who played 19 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Washington Capitals, Minnesota North Stars, New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leaf ...

(1432). The closest Mellanby came to the cup was when his Philadelphia Flyers lost to Edmonton in the 1987 Stanley Cup Finals, 4 games to 3. Following retirement, Mellanby worked for three years in the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce B ...

organization as a special consultant to general manager

Mike Gillis Michael David Gillis (born December 1, 1958) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former president and general manager of the Vancouver Canucks. He was born in Sudbury, Ontario. Playing career Gillis spent his junior hockey ca ...

and the hockey operations department. Mellanby then spent two years as an assistant coach with the

before stepping down following the 2011–12 season to pursue other opportunities in hockey. On May 28, 2012, Mellanby was hired by the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

as Director of Player Personnel and became an assistant GM on July 30, 2014. On November 27, 2021 the club announced that Mellanby had resigned.

Personal life

Mellanby and his wife, Susan have a daughter, Courtney, and two sons Carter and Nicholas. Mellanby also is involved in many

autism The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...

-related causes as his son Carter is

autistic The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...

. Along with fellow NHLers

Olaf Kolzig Olaf or Olav (, , or British ; Old Norse: ''Áleifr'', ''Ólafr'', ''Óleifr'', ''Anleifr'') is a Scandinavian and German given name. It is presumably of Proto-Norse origin, reconstructed as ''*Anu-laibaz'', from ''anu'' "ancestor, grand-father" a ...

and

Byron Dafoe Byron Dafoe (born February 25, 1971) is a British-Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He was born in Worthing, England, United Kingdom and moved to Comox, British Columbia with his mother at the age of two months. Between 199 ...

, Mellanby is a founder of Athletes Against Autism.

Records

*Most assists in a game by a Florida Panther, (4 – shared with Ray Whitney) *Most power play goals in a game, (4)

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mellanby, Scott 1966 births Living people Anglophone Quebec people Atlanta Thrashers captains Atlanta Thrashers players Autism activists Canadian ice hockey right wingers Edmonton Oilers players Florida Panthers players Ice hockey people from Montreal Montreal Canadiens executives National Hockey League All-Stars Philadelphia Flyers draft picks Philadelphia Flyers players St. Louis Blues coaches St. Louis Blues players Vancouver Canucks scouts Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey players Canadian ice hockey coaches