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My Four Favorite Random St. Louis Blues Of All Time

By Todd Panula

13 Jan 1999: Tony Twist #18 of the St. Louis Blues stretches out on the ice before the game against the Buffalo Sabres at the Marine Midland Arena in Buffalo, New York. The Blues defeated the Sabres 4-2.
13 Jan 1999: Tony Twist #18 of the St. Louis Blues stretches out on the ice before the game against the Buffalo Sabres at the Marine Midland Arena in Buffalo, New York. The Blues defeated the Sabres 4-2. /
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St. Louis Blues
TORONTO – DECEMBER 9: Scott Mellanby #19 of the St. Louis Blues eyes the play against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Air Canada Centre on December 9, 2003 in Toronto, Ontario. The Blues defeated the Maple Leafs in overtime 3-2. (Photo By Dave Sandford/Getty Images) /

Scott Mellanby

I never really had that teenage angst moment where you’re rebelling against your father or your parents for reasons only a teenager can understand. Maybe that’s part of why I liked Scott Mellanby.

Mellanby, for reasons still unknown today, was not liked by my dad. I think it mostly had to do with him not having heard of Mellanby very much.

To him, it was a Blues team that was trying to build a championship contender adding an old player. It didn’t make sense to him, so he pushed back against it and nicknamed him melon-head.

I loved the signing. For me, it had more to do with having followed the 1996 season so closely.

Mellanby had the legend of killing the rat in the Florida Panthers locker room going for him. In hindsight, it was quite dangerous, but I loved seeing all those rubber rats being flung onto the ice when Florida would score.

Though he doesn’t often admit it, even my dad had to appreciate Mellanby a little during his time with the Blues. While he was often in a third, or sometimes even fourth, line role, he was still productive even in his 30’s.

In four seasons in St. Louis, he scored 62 goals and 137 points. In 2002-03, he turned back the clock scoring 26 goals and 57 points when he was 36. Mellanby was one of the Blues best players in the 2002 playoffs, scoring seven goals in 10 games. Him being one of the team’s best might have been part of the problem, but you still ask guys to step up and he did.

Mellanby played until he was 40 and continued to be productive for the Atlanta Thrashers. The Blues let him walk in free agency as they were slashing payroll in an attempt to sell the team at the time.

Though it made sense given his age to let him go, Mellanby would have been seventh and eighth on the team in scoring had he stayed his final two years and still put up the same point totals.

Next. NBC basically dictates when the 2021 NHL season will end. dark

He was not here long and he didn’t have quite the impact he did in Florida, but Mellanby was a good player who helped some really good Blues teams in the early 2000’s. He’s not remembered by all, but he’s one of my random favorites, for sure.

Who are your favorite Blues that aren’t household names or were only here briefly.  Let us know on social media or in the comments.

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