manny
01-17-2006, 08:27 AM
Thrashers' Mellanby still in the game
Captain no longer questions desire to play
By JOHN MANASSO (jmanasso@<hidden>)
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 01/16/06 Almost 20 percent of the way through the season, all Scott Mellanby had to show for his play was one goal, one assist and a groin injury.
When future Hall of Famer Brett Hull decided to retire 10 days into the season, Mellanby, the Thrashers' 39-year-old captain who is only two years Hull's junior, took to heart words that Hull invoked while announcing his retirement.
http://www.ajc.com/shared-local/images/1pix_trans.gif"There's an old expression, and I don't know who said it: 'The mind is willing, but the body isn't,' " Hull said.
Said Mellanby, who had difficulty resuming his career after not playing during the lockout: "Well, there were times early in the season, believe me, after Hully retired when it sounded like [Hull was] my brain talking out loud. ... I know in a season you have ups and downs, but early on, it was a struggle. I won't lie to you."
It hasn't been a struggle lately. With some of the league's older veterans like Hull deciding to retire and Tampa Bay choosing to waive 42-year-old captain Dave Andreychuk last week, Mellanby has found ways to be effective.
He enters this week with two goals and eight assists in his past nine games and has been even, or better, in 13 consecutive games. He is tied for the team lead in plus/minus among forwards at plus-7 and ranks eighth overall in points with 18.
Acquired in large part for his leadership skills, Mellanby has said he wanted to live up to his own expectations, whether that meant being effective while playing six or seven minutes on a checking line with Serge Aubin and Eric Boulton or going in the corners to pick up pucks and feed Ilya Kovalchuk and Marc Savard, Nos. 2 and 3 in the league in points.
Thrashers coach Bob Hartley said he values Mellanby's versatility.
"He can adjust his game to a different speed of the game whether from the defensive standpoint or the offensive standpoint," Hartley said. "He's great with all of our players. He's basically a big brother to many of our younger players. But I think, defensively, he brings a nice balance to many of the young guys while at the same time chipping in some big goals. This game doesn't have many more secrets for him."
The leadership aspect has been key. When the team first started to turn things around in December, Mellanby was quick to point out that the team had underachieved and that talk was cheap until the Thrashers sustained a level of consistent play. Now that they have, he continues to hold the team to a high standard; he was critical of the team's play in Friday's 2-0 victory against St. Louis, not even sparing himself.
Mellanby played for several seasons under Mike Kitchen, who was an assistant for the Blues before becoming head coach there at the end of 2003-04 regular season.
"We really miss his leadership — they're lucky to have a player like that, a leader like that," Kitchen said. "He's a first-class individual. The No. 1 thing on his mind is to win. Coming into a young group like Atlanta has here was a terrific choice by [general manager] Don Waddell ... a terrific choice."
Captain no longer questions desire to play
By JOHN MANASSO (jmanasso@<hidden>)
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 01/16/06 Almost 20 percent of the way through the season, all Scott Mellanby had to show for his play was one goal, one assist and a groin injury.
When future Hall of Famer Brett Hull decided to retire 10 days into the season, Mellanby, the Thrashers' 39-year-old captain who is only two years Hull's junior, took to heart words that Hull invoked while announcing his retirement.
http://www.ajc.com/shared-local/images/1pix_trans.gif"There's an old expression, and I don't know who said it: 'The mind is willing, but the body isn't,' " Hull said.
Said Mellanby, who had difficulty resuming his career after not playing during the lockout: "Well, there were times early in the season, believe me, after Hully retired when it sounded like [Hull was] my brain talking out loud. ... I know in a season you have ups and downs, but early on, it was a struggle. I won't lie to you."
It hasn't been a struggle lately. With some of the league's older veterans like Hull deciding to retire and Tampa Bay choosing to waive 42-year-old captain Dave Andreychuk last week, Mellanby has found ways to be effective.
He enters this week with two goals and eight assists in his past nine games and has been even, or better, in 13 consecutive games. He is tied for the team lead in plus/minus among forwards at plus-7 and ranks eighth overall in points with 18.
Acquired in large part for his leadership skills, Mellanby has said he wanted to live up to his own expectations, whether that meant being effective while playing six or seven minutes on a checking line with Serge Aubin and Eric Boulton or going in the corners to pick up pucks and feed Ilya Kovalchuk and Marc Savard, Nos. 2 and 3 in the league in points.
Thrashers coach Bob Hartley said he values Mellanby's versatility.
"He can adjust his game to a different speed of the game whether from the defensive standpoint or the offensive standpoint," Hartley said. "He's great with all of our players. He's basically a big brother to many of our younger players. But I think, defensively, he brings a nice balance to many of the young guys while at the same time chipping in some big goals. This game doesn't have many more secrets for him."
The leadership aspect has been key. When the team first started to turn things around in December, Mellanby was quick to point out that the team had underachieved and that talk was cheap until the Thrashers sustained a level of consistent play. Now that they have, he continues to hold the team to a high standard; he was critical of the team's play in Friday's 2-0 victory against St. Louis, not even sparing himself.
Mellanby played for several seasons under Mike Kitchen, who was an assistant for the Blues before becoming head coach there at the end of 2003-04 regular season.
"We really miss his leadership — they're lucky to have a player like that, a leader like that," Kitchen said. "He's a first-class individual. The No. 1 thing on his mind is to win. Coming into a young group like Atlanta has here was a terrific choice by [general manager] Don Waddell ... a terrific choice."