Roland Melanson

Roland Joseph "Rollie the Goalie" Melanson (Born June 28, 1960 in Moncton, New Brunswick) is a retired goaltender in the NHL and former goaltender coach for the Montreal Canadiens.

While playing for the Indianapolis Checkers in 1981, Melanson won the Ken McKenzie Trophy as rookie of the year of the Central Hockey League. Along with Billy Smith, Melanson won the William M. Jennings Trophy in the 1982–83 season.

Melanson played junior hockey with the Windsor Spitfires and Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League from 1977-80. He was drafted by the New York Islanders in the third round, 59th overall, in the 1979 NHL Entry Draft.

He was mostly a backup goaltender with the Islanders for five seasons (1980-85) and saw some time in the minors. Melanson did split the William M. Jennings Trophy in 1982-83 with Billy Smith but Smith continued to get much more playing time.

Melanson was traded to the Minnesota North Stars during the 1984-85 NHL season but was a backup there too. Not until the 1986-87 NHL season did he become the main goaltender for the Los Angeles Kings for two seasons.

After spending some time with the New Jersey Devils and the Montreal Canadiens Melanson retired in 1994.