On the day he returned from Finland, still walking on air after managing Team Canada to its first\u002Dever World Junior gold medal in Europe, Sherry Bassin will…
The hug was on a Thursday in 1985, just days after New Year’s. It turned out to be the last conversation Bassin would have with Bruce Melanson, an 18-year-old forward from New Brunswick.The anniversary of the death of Bruce Melanson passed quietly as it does most years in a non-public kind of way. He was never a well-known player or a public personality of any kind, except for those who knew him best.
Moose Melanson was 6-foot-2, 190 pounds, and a second-round draft pick of the New York Islanders, back when the Islanders were the franchise of all NHL franchises. The Islanders loved big, bruising, rugged forwards. They had already drafted and won Stanley Cups with Clark Gillies, Brent and Duane Sutter, John Tonelli and Bob Nystrom. Melanson, new to Ontario from New Brunswick, was the latest of that kind. He looked and played like a future Islander.
“Think about it, you’re 18, you’re 19, you’re a hockey player and you think you’re kind of invincible. You’re not ready to deal with something like this. It was tragic, it’s still tragic and it was tough on us, The other day, after the Damar Hamlin scenario unfolded on national television with the Buffalo Bills and with national media, Stevens turned on his TV and watched the end of a broadcast that had no Monday Night game. Two days later, he said to his wife, “today’s the anniversary.” He didn’t have to explain what anniversary he was talking about. She knew.Article content
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