The Most Interesting Goalie in the World
- Douglas Melvin, age 65, is an active EBUG in the ECHL, participating in warm-ups and sitting the bench for professional games as recently as 2024.
- Melvin began his connection to professional hockey at age 14 as a practice goalie for the Philadelphia Flyers, and was later coached by goaltending legend Jacques Plante.
- Between his hockey career and his return to professional goaltending, Melvin became both a certified accountant and a U.S. Army Green Beret.
- Melvin attends two-a-day training camp sessions with the Idaho Steelheads each year, practicing at a professional level for roughly two months annually.
- International Goalie Day is celebrated on November 1, created by InGoal Magazine's Paul Campbell to honor Jacques Plante's first masked appearance in an NHL game.
Douglas Melvin just might be the most interesting goalie in the world.
At the very least he’s one of the most inspiring, and a perfect representative for our annual celebration of International Goalie Day, a designation created by InGoal Magazine’s own Paul Campbell seven years ago to mark Nov. 1 in honour of Jacques Plante’s definitive contribution to the position by putting on a mask for the first time in an NHL game.
It’s fitting then that Melvin, who at age 65 is still taking a regular turn as an EBUG for the ECHL Idaho Steelheads and visiting teams, was once coached by Plante during a stint with the Philadelphia Flyers, a team he began helping as a practice goalie at the age of 14!
Melvin popped onto the InGoal radar recently after reprising his role as an EBUG for the visiting Toledo Walleye just last week, taking part in warm-ups and sitting on the bench behind starter Jan Bednar after the Detroit Red Wings called Carter Gylander up from the ECHL to their American Hockey League affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins.
Our brief — and it turns out, somewhat ill-informed — discussion about his most recent ECHL exploits on last week’s episode of the InGoal Radio Podcast was shared with Melvin by fellow goalies and thankfully he reached out, allowing us to learn that published stories about his EBUG experience not only underestimated his age by four years, but significantly undersold his incredible life as a goalie — and beyond. It started as a teenager with the Flyers, includes training camps in Philadelphia and with the Boston Bruins, detoured into becoming both an accountant and Green Beret, and still includes a couple months a year practicing at a professional level, including two-a-days at training camp with Idaho.
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