Scott Mellanby

**Scott Mellanby** (born Scott Edgar Mellanby on June 11, 1966 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada) is a Canadian former ice hockey player who played in the NHL for the Philadelphia Flyers, Edmonton Oilers, Florida Panthers, St. Louis Blues and the Atlanta Thrashers.

Mellanby was drafted 27th overall by Philadelphia in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft.

## Playing Career

### Early Playing Career

As a youth, Scott played in the 1979 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from Mississauga. He was selected 27th overall by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft.

After being drafted, he went to the University of Wisconsin–Madison 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 was finished, Scott promptly played his first two NHL games. He made his NHL debut on March 22, 1986 against the New York Rangers.

In 1989, he 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.

He 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).

Scott 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 he 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.

Scott also scored the Panthers' first ever goal in franchise history on October 9, 1993 and played in the 1996 All-Star game. He was traded to the St. Louis Blues in February of 2001, and the move revitalized his career. He scored 57 points during the 2002–03 season, his highest total since 1996.

Scott then signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Thrashers 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

On April 24, 2007, Scott announced his retirement, becoming the first player to retire as a Thrashers captain (the four previous Thrashers captains, were either traded or signed elsewhere via free-agency).

He 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 that he came to the cup was when his Philadelphia Flyers lost to Edmonton in the 1987 Stanley Cup Finals, 4 games to 3.

Following retirement, Scott worked for three years in the Vancouver Canucks organization as a special consultant to general manager Mike Gillis and the hockey operations department. He then spent two years as an assistant coach with the St. Louis Blues before stepping down following the 2011-12 season to pursue other opportunities in hockey.

On May 28, 2012, Scott was hired by the Montreal Canadiens as Director of Player Personnel and became an assistant GM on July 30, 2014.

## Career Statistics

### Regular season and playoffs

Template:MedalTableTop
Template:MedalCountry
Template:MedalSport
Template:MedalCompetition
Template:MedalSilver
Template:MedalBottom

## Records

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

## Personal Life

Scott and his wife, Susan have a daughter, Courtney, and two sons Carter and Nicholas. He also is involved in many autism-related causes as his son Carter is autistic.

Along with fellow NHLers Olaf Kolzig and Byron Dafoe, Scott is a founder of Athletes Against Autism.