Réjean M. "Reggie" Lemelin (born November 19, 1954) 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 rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two o ...

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...

and coach. Lemelin played in the

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

(NHL) for the

Atlanta Flames The Atlanta Flames were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta from 1972 until 1980. They played home games in the Omni Coliseum and were members of the West and later Patrick divisions of the National Hockey League (NHL). Along wi ...

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are the third major professional ice hockey tea ...

and

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The ...

. After his playing career, Lemelin spent 13 years as a goaltending coach for 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 Wel ...

, who had originally drafted him into the NHL.

Playing career

As a youth, Lemelin played in the 1965, 1966 and 1967

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 c ...

team from Orsainville, Quebec City. After playing two seasons in the

QMJHL The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (french: Ligue de hockey junior majeur du Québec; abbreviated ''QMJHL'' in English, ''LHJMQ'' in French) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The l ...

with the

Sherbrooke Beavers The Sherbrooke Castors or Beavers (in English) was the name of two different junior ice hockey teams in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and another team in the Quebec Eastern Provincial Hockey League. Both later franchises played at the Pa ...

, Lemelin joined the

North American Hockey League The North American Hockey League (NAHL) is one of the top junior hockey leagues in the United States and is in its 48th season of operation in 2022–23. It is the only Tier II junior league sanctioned by USA Hockey, and acts as an alternat ...

Philadelphia Firebirds The Philadelphia Firebirds were a minor league professional ice hockey team that played in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from 1974 to 1979, and later the franchise moved to Syracuse, New York, and played one final season as the Syracuse Firebirds. ...

. He was drafted by the

in the seventh round, 125th overall, in the 1974 NHL amateur draft, and was also selected by the

Chicago Cougars The Chicago Cougars were a franchise in the World Hockey Association from 1972 to 1975. The Cougars played their home games in the International Amphitheatre. During the 1974 Avco Cup Finals against Gordie Howe and the Houston Aeros, the team' ...

in the

1974 WHA Amateur Draft The 1974 WHA Amateur Draft was the second amateur draft held by the World Hockey Association. The first two rounds of the draft were conducted in secret in February and only graduating junior players (born in 1954) were eligible for selection. The ...

; however, he never played in the WHA, due to an argument with management. His NHL debut came with the

during the 1978–79 season. Lemelin remained with the Flames through their move to

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, maki ...

, where he enjoyed the most success of his career. He split goaltending duties with

Pat Riggin Patrick Michael Riggin (born May 26, 1959) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. Playing career Birmingham Bulls Riggin began his professional career while still a teenager with the Birmingham Bulls of the World Hockey As ...

and then

Don Edwards William Donlon Edwards (January 6, 1915 – October 1, 2015) was an American politician of the Democratic Party and a member of the United States House of Representatives from California for 32 years in the late 20th century. Early life Edward ...

, earning the starting job in

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

, In 1984, he was named to the Canadian team that played in the

1984 Canada Cup The 1984 Labatt Canada Cup was a professional international ice hockey tournament played during the first three weeks of September 1984. The best-of-three final took place between Canada and Sweden, with Canada winning a two game sweep. Canadian ...

. He played in two games, earning a win and a loss. After losing his starting job in Calgary to Mike Vernon, he joined the

for the 1987–88 season, and teamed with

Andy Moog Donald Andrew Moog (; born February 18, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. Moog played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Edmonton Oilers, Boston Bruins, Dallas Stars and Montreal Canadiens, and also for the C ...

to win the NHL's

William M. Jennings Trophy The William M. Jennings Trophy is an annual National Hockey League (NHL) award given to "the goaltender(s) having played a minimum of 25 games for the team with the fewest goals scored against it ... based on regular-season play." From 1946 until ...

(for fewest team goals allowed) in the 1989–90 season. After battling numerous injuries, Lemelin retired during the 1992–93 season, with his final game on December 29, 1992 in Winnipeg against the

Jets Jet, Jets, or The Jet(s) may refer to: Aerospace * Jet aircraft, an aircraft propelled by jet engines ** Jet airliner ** Jet engine ** Jet fuel * Jet Airways, an Indian airline * Wind Jet (ICAO: JET), an Italian airline * Journey to Enceladus a ...

. In his NHL career, he appeared in 507 games and had only two losing seasons. After 13 seasons as the goaltending coach for the

, Lemelin was replaced on June 25, 2009, by

Jeff Reese Jeffrey K. Reese (born March 24, 1966) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played eleven seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Calgary Flames, Hartford Whalers, Tampa Bay Lightning and Ne ...

. As of 2010, he was active in Boston area charity hockey games, playing as a goaltender with the Boston Bruins Alumni exhibition team.

Personal life

Lemelin married his wife, Rona, in July 1976. They have two children together, Brian and

Stephanie Stephanie is a female name that comes from the Greek name Στέφανος (Stephanos) meaning "crown". The male form is Stephen. Forms of Stephanie in other languages include the German "Stefanie", the Italian, Czech, Polish, and Russian " ...

Awards

* Won gold in the

as a member of

Team Canada Canadian National Team or Team Canada may refer to: Canada at multi-sport events * Canada at the Olympics * Canada at the Paralympics * Canada at the Commonwealth Games * Canada at the Pan American Games Canada's national sport teams * Canada me ...

. * Selected to

40th National Hockey League All-Star Game The 40th National Hockey League All-Star Game was held at Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton, home to the Edmonton Oilers, on February 7, 1989. The return of Wayne Gretzky The previous year saw the then-unthinkable trade of Wayne Gretzky to the Lo ...

( 1988–89 season) *

(fewest goals allowed in NHL): 1989–90 season (w/

)

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs statistics.

References

External links

*
Réjean Lemelin @ hockeygoalies.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lemelin, Rejean 1954 births Living people Atlanta Flames players Birmingham Bulls (CHL) players Boston Bruins players Calgary Flames players Canadian ice hockey goaltenders Chicago Cougars draft picks French Quebecers Ice hockey people from Quebec City National Hockey League All-Stars Philadelphia Firebirds (AHL) players Philadelphia Firebirds (NAHL) players Philadelphia Flyers coaches Philadelphia Flyers draft picks Richmond Robins players Sherbrooke Castors players Springfield Indians players William M. Jennings Trophy winners Canadian ice hockey coaches