Roland Melanson

Roland Melanson
Date of birth	June 28, 1960
place of birth	Moncton , New Brunswick , Canada
Nickname	Rollie
size	178 cm
Weight	84 kg
position	goalkeeper
Catch hand	Left
Draft
NHL Entry Draft	1979 , 3rd round, 59th position New York Islanders
Career stations
1977-1979	Windsor Spitfires
1979-1980	Oshawa Generals
1980-1984	New York Islanders
1984-1985	Minnesota North Stars
1985-1989	Los Angeles Kings
1989-1991	Utica Devils
1991-1992	Montréal Canadiens
1992-1993	Brantford Smoke
1993-1994	Saint John Flames

Roland Joseph "Rollie" Melanson (* 28. June 1960 in Moncton , New Brunswick ) is a retired Canadian ice hockey player , who from 1980 to 1992 for the New York Islanders , Minnesota North Stars , Los Angeles Kings , New Jersey Devils and Montreal Canadiens in played the National Hockey League . His son Mathieu is also a professional ice hockey player and was selected in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft by the Minnesota Wild in the eighth round.

Career

During his junior years, he played in his hometown with the Windsor Spitfires in the Ontario Hockey League . In the 1979 NHL Entry Draft , the New York Islanders selected him in the third round in a total of 59th position. After the draft, he moved to the Oshawa Generals within the OHL .

In the 1980/81 season he played in the Central Hockey League with the Indianapolis Checkers . After the Islanders gave up Glenn Resch , he took the place behind Billy Smith . The Islanders were the dominant team at the time, so he made three appearances when the team won the Stanley Cup . In the 1982/83 season , the NHL statisticians determined the goalkeeper's catch quota for the first time. In the first two years he led this rating. Also in the 1983/84 season , the Islanders reached the final series, but this time they were defeated by the Edmonton Oilers .

The following year, the Islanders relied on Kelly Hrudey as a young goalie and gave Melanson to the Minnesota North Stars . Here he joined Don Beaupre . In two seasons he played 26 games for the stars before they handed him over to the New York Rangers . On the same day they passed it on to the Los Angeles Kings . Here he managed to become a regular goalkeeper. A knee injury early in the 1988/89 season gave Glenn Healy the chance to oust him. When the Kings signed Kelly Hrudey, his days were numbered.

He moved to the New Jersey Devils , but for this he played only 20 minutes in a single game in two years. Mostly he was used in the American Hockey League with the Utica Devils . Together with Kirk Muller , the Devils sent him to the Montréal Canadiens . For the two they received Stéphane Richer and Tom Chorske . As a replacement behind Patrick Roy , he got little ice age. In his nine games he remained clean in two games, but after the end of the 1991/92 season he ended his NHL career and played two more years in the lower classes.

From 1997 he was an assistant coach for the Montréal Canadiens for many years. He was the first New Brunswick- born goalie in the NHL.

NHL statistics

	Seasons	Games	Victory cut	Conceded goal	Shutouts
Regular season	11	291	0.443	3.63	6th
Playoffs	6th	23	0.174	4.42	0

Sporting successes

• Stanley Cup : 1981 , 1982 and 1983

Personal awards

• OHL Second All-Star Team: 1979
• CHL First All-Star Team: 1981
• Ken McKenzie Trophy : 1981
• NHL Second All-Star Team : 1983
• William M. Jennings Trophy : 1983 (together with Billy Smith )
• Participation in the NHL All-Star Game : 1986
• Best catch quota in the NHL : 1983 and 1984

Web links

• Roland Melanson at hockeydb.com (English)
• Roland Melanson at hockeygoalies.org
• Roland Melanson at legendsofhockey.net (English)