Scott Mellanby

Scott Mellanby
Born	June 11, 1966 (1966-06-11) Montreal, QC, CAN
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight	210 lb (95 kg; 15 st 0 lb)
Position	Wing
Shot	Right
Played for	Philadelphia Flyers Edmonton Oilers Florida Panthers St. Louis Blues Atlanta Thrashers
National team	Canada
NHL Draft	27th overall, 1984 Philadelphia Flyers
Playing career	1985–2007

Scott Edgar Mellanby (born June 11, 1966) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey player. He primarily played right wing throughout his career, on occasion shifting over to the left side. He is the son of former Hockey Night in Canada producer Ralph Mellanby. He is currently the assistant coach of the St. Louis Blues.

Playing career

Scott Mellanby was selected 27th overall by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft. After being drafted, Mellanby went to the University of Wisconsin–Madison where he played for two seasons. After his second season in the WCHA was finished, he promptly played his first two NHL games.

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. Doctors repaired it through surgery, but Mellanby had been close to amputation. Mellanby would play for Philadelphia until the summer of 1991, when he was traded to the Edmonton Oilers in a 6-player deal that included Jari Kurri going to Philadelphia (though Kurri was traded to the Los Angeles Kings the same day).

Mellanby was left unprotected by the Edmonton Oilers in the 1993 NHL Expansion Draft, allowing him to be claimed by the new Florida Panthers. 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" craze, where fans would litter the ice with thousands of plastic rats after each Panthers goal. It was brought to the hockey world's attention during the Panthers' run to the final in 1996. He also scored the Panthers' first ever goal in franchise history on October 9, 1993.

Mellanby was traded to the St. Louis Blues in February 2001, and the move revitalized his declining 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 in the summer of 2004 and he resigned with Atlanta for the 2006–07 season.

Mellanby and his wife, Susan have a daughter, Courtney, and two sons Carter and Nicholas. Mellanby also is involved in many autism-related causes as his son Carter is autistic. Along with fellow NHLers Olaf Kolzig and Byron Dafoe, Mellanby is a founder of Athletes Against Autism.

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 victory, only behind Phil Housley (1495) and Mike Gartner (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 organization as a special consultant to general manager Mike Gillis and the hockey operations department. Mellanby is currently an assistant coach for the St. Louis Blues.

Records

• Most assists in a game by a Florida Panther, (4 – shared with Ray Whitney)

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1984–85	Wisconsin Badgers	WCHA		40	14	24	38	60		—	—	—	—	—
1985–86	Wisconsin Badgers	WCHA		32	21	23	44	89		—	—	—	—	—
1985-86	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		2	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
1986–87	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		71	11	21	32	94		24	5	5	10	46
1987–88	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		75	25	26	51	185		7	0	1	1	16
1988–89	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		76	21	29	50	183		19	4	5	9	28
1989–90	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		57	6	17	23	77		—	—	—	—	—
1990–91	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		74	20	21	41	155		—	—	—	—	—
1991–92	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		80	23	27	50	197		16	2	1	3	29
1992–93	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		69	15	17	32	147		—	—	—	—	—
1993–94	Florida Panthers	NHL		80	30	30	60	149		—	—	—	—	—
1994–95	Florida Panthers	NHL		48	13	12	25	90		—	—	—	—	—
1995–96	Florida Panthers	NHL		79	32	38	70	160		22	3	6	9	44
1996–97	Florida Panthers	NHL		82	27	29	56	170		5	0	2	2	4
1997–98	Florida Panthers	NHL		79	15	24	39	127		—	—	—	—	—
1998–99	Florida Panthers	NHL		67	18	27	45	85		—	—	—	—	—
1999–00	Florida Panthers	NHL		77	18	28	46	126		4	0	1	1	2
2000–01	Florida Panthers	NHL		40	4	9	13	46		—	—	—	—	—
2000–01	St. Louis Blues	NHL		23	7	1	8	25		15	3	3	6	17
2001–02	St. Louis Blues	NHL		64	15	26	41	93		10	7	3	10	18
2002–03	St. Louis Blues	NHL		80	26	31	57	176		6	0	1	1	10
2003–04	St. Louis Blues	NHL		68	14	17	31	76		4	0	1	1	2
2005–06	Atlanta Thrashers	NHL		71	12	22	34	55		—	—	—	—	—
2006–07	Atlanta Thrashers	NHL		69	12	24	36	63		4	0	0	0	4
NHL totals				1431	364	476	840	2479		134	24	29	53	220

Medal record
Competitor for Canada
Ice hockey
World Junior Championships
Silver	1986 Hamilton

International

Year	Team	Comp	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1986	Canada	WJC	7	5	4	9	6
Junior int'l totals			7	5	4	9	6

See also

• Captain (ice hockey)
• List of NHL players with 1000 games played

External links

• Scott Mellanby's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
• Scott Mellanby at Hockey-Reference.com
• Scott Mellanby's NHL player profile

Preceded by Brian Skrudland	Florida Panthers captain 1997–2001	Succeeded by Pavel Bure Paul Laus
Preceded by Shawn McEachern	Atlanta Thrashers captain 2005–07	Succeeded by Bobby Holik