The death of hockey player, coach and broadcaster Barry Melrose was felt around Saskatchewan on Thursday. On Wednesday evening, it was reported that Melrose, 70, died following a multi-year battle with Parkinson’s disease. Melrose retired from ESPN because of the disease in 2023. Originally from Kelvington, Sask., Melrose started to make noise in his hockey career with the Weyburn Red Wings from 1972-1974. Head coach and general manager Dwight McMillan found Melrose playing in a midget tournament in Assiniboia, playing for Wadena. “I went out travelling, looking for players and looked at where players had played,” he said. “I went to Wadena and I tried to find this ‘Barry Melrose,’ and I could not find him. Finally, I found a gentleman that said, ‘Well, he’s actually from Kelvington.’ So that’s how I got in contact with Barry and his family, and we talked him into coming down to play for Weyburn.” McMillan coached him for just one season in 1973-74. According to Elite Prospects, Melrose scored 21 points in 50 games for the Red Wings, including 162 penalty minutes. “He was the type of player that played hard and had great character,” McMillan said. “When you went to play somebody when you’re loading the bus, you never have to worry how he was going to perform because you knew he was a hardworking young man, played the game heavy and controlled his own really well. He didn’t like guys coming down the ice with their head down.” Melrose made the transition to the WCHL with the Kamloops Chiefs the following season, where McMillan actually drove him to the tryouts. After two seasons with the Kamloops Chiefs, Melrose was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in the 1976 NHL draft. The Kelvington product played 11 seasons playing professional hockey, playing games for the Winnipeg Jets, Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings of the NHL. McMillan and Melrose kept in contact over the years - McMillan recalls staying with his former player when Melrose coached with the Medicine Hat Tigers, along with a visit to Los Angeles when Melrose coached the Kings in the 1990s. In 1993, Melrose, who was a rookie NHL coach, brought the Los Angeles Kings all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals, losing to the Montreal Canadiens. McMillan was not surprised by Melrose’s quick success behind the bench in the NHL. “I think the big thing was his character and the way he handled himself when he talked to people and his knowledge of the game,” McMillan said. “He really had studied the game when he played with me, and I’m sure that he did it afterwards. He understood how to motivate players to play, because when you’re coaching, I think in the NHL, a lot of guys know how to play with you, gotta motivate them to play together.” McMillan also said that Melrose was a big part in putting the Red Wings on the map in the hockey world. The club has won eight Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League championships since they started in 1961.
