Barry Melrose
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Barry Melrose (born July 15, 1956 in Kelvington, Saskatchewan) is a hockey player, coach and current commentator for ESPN and ABC.
Melrose began his hockey career as a defenseman in the WCHL with the Kamloops Chiefs in 1974, eventually working his way up to the Cincinnati Stingers of the WHA. Following the demise of the WHA and its subsequent absorption into the NHL, Melrose joined the Winnipeg Jets for the 1979-80 season.
The remainder of his playing career saw Melrose bounce from team to team, being sent to the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Detroit Red Wings and their assorted AHL affiliates. Melrose spent his final season playing with the Adirondack Red Wings of the AHL in 1986-87. During his playing career, Melrose scored a mere 65 points between his NHL and WHA teams, but amassed over 1,000 penalty minutes.
Following his playing career, however, Melrose took to coaching. His first coaching position saw him helming the Medicine Hat Tigers and then the Seattle Thunderbirds of the WHL. In 1989, Melrose was hired to coach his old team, the Adirondack Red Wings. He successfully led the minor league franchise to a Calder Cup victory over the St. John's Maple Leafs in the 1991-92 season.
Following that season, Melrose was hired to be the coach of the NHL's Los Angeles Kings. The team, which included stars like Wayne Gretzky, Jari Kurri and Paul Coffey, went to the Stanley Cup finals, but lost to the Montreal Canadiens. Melrose fell out of favor with star Gretzky and eventually was fired at Gretzky's behest.
After his coaching stint, Melrose was hired to be a hockey commentator with cable sports network ESPN (and later ABC when the two became part of the same company). Melrose currently works as a studio analyst along with John Saunders.
Melrose is also a part owner of the Adirondack Frostbite (formerly the Adirondack Icehawks) of the UHL. Melrose currently resides in Queensbury, New York.
External link
- The Internet Hockey Database: Barry Melrose (http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php3?pid=00003669)