Gilles Meloche and his Under-Appreciated Rookie 1971-72 NHL Season

Goaltender Gilles Meloche was a fifth round pick by the Chicago Blackhawks at the 1970 NHL Amateur Draft. However, Meloche played just two games with the Hawks in 1970-71 before ending up with the California Golden Seals. With the Seals, Gilles was thrust into the number one role in 1971-72 and didn't disappoint.

In his true rookie season, Meloche played 56 games for California, posting a 3.33 goals against average with four shutouts. These were great numbers for a goalie on a team that didn't qualify for the post season. In his first game with the club, he shut down the high-powered Boston Bruins, earning his first career shutout while turning away 34 shots at the Boston Garden.

Typical of the Golden Seals, Meloche stopped 52 of 54 shots in a March 11, 1972 game at Maple Leaf Gardens but still lost the to Toronto 2-1. It was Darryl Sittler sinking the Seals with a power play goal at 12:29 of the second period.

Despite this, Gilles received just a single vote for the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year in 1971-72. Ahead of him in voting was winner Ken Dryden along with Rick Martin and Marcel Dionne, certainly a deserving trio.

The following year, 1972-73, Meloche led the NHL in games and minutes played, shots, saves and goals against. Gilles was getting better as a goalie but the Golden Seals were simply getting worse as a franchise. In three games, he faced over 50 shots. In 14, opponents fired more than 40 at him. 

Gilles Meloche played 788 regular season and 45 playoff games in the National Hockey League between 1970-71 and 1987-88 with the Blackhawks, Golden Seals, Cleveland Barons, Minnesota North Stars and Pittsburgh Penguins. 

4 Big Name Goalies to Come out of the 1970 NHL Amateur Draft

When it comes to goalies and the NHL Draft, it’s a pretty bitter relationship to say the least. Goaltenders are rarely picked high in the draft and the 1970 NHL Amateur Draft was no exception. Just one goalie was picked in the first round, Ray Martyniuk was the fifth overall selection by the Montreal Canadiens. The Flin Flon Bombers goalie never saw action in the NHL. In fact, of the 12 goalies chosen in the entire draft, five never played in the NHL and eight saw less than 100 games. Therefore, just four of the 12 made a career of it.

Dan Bouchard

Dan Bouchard was the second highest picked goalie in 1970. The London Knights goaltender was chosen in the second round by the Boston Bruins, 27^th overall. Bouchard never played for the Bruins but did have a successful lengthy 655 game career in the NHL, starting in the 1972-73 season.

The expansion Atlanta Flames gave him the shot he needed to be a regular goalie in the league. He played with the Flames for the team’s entire existence in Atlanta. In his first year with the Calgary Flames, 1980-81, Dan was traded to the Quebec Nordiques after playing 14 games in Alberta. Bouchard played with the Nordiques until the end of the 1984-85 season and had one last NHL season with the Winnipeg Jets in 1985-86.

Billy Smith

The fifth round proved to be the goaltenders round in 1970. Billy Smith was the 59^th overall pick of the Los Angeles Kings in the fifth. Billy played just five games with the Kings before becoming the backbone of the backend of the New York Islanders for many years to come. Billy played 680 games over his career and is now enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Gilles Meloche

Not far behind Smith in that fifth round was Gilles Meloche. Meloche was the 70^th overall pick, going to the Chicago Black Hawks. With a similar start to his career as Billy Smith, Meloche played just two games with the team that drafted him before becoming the number one man with the California Golden Seals in 1971-72.

Gilles played 788 games in net during his career that lasted until the end of the 1987-88 season. Meloche is regarded as the greatest goalie in Minnesota North Stars history. Along with the Black Hawks, Golden Seals and North Stars, Gilles Meloche also played for the Cleveland Barons and Pittsburgh Penguins.

Ron Low

Ron Low was drafted way down in the eighth round by the Toronto Maple Leafs, 103^rd overall. Despite his low ranking, Ron made a decent career of it in the NHL, playing 382 games between 1972-73 and 1984-85. A bit of a travelling man, Low played for the Maple Leafs, Washington Capitals, Detroit Red Wings, Edmonton Oilers, Quebec Nordiques and New Jersey Devils.