1973-74 O-Pee-Chee 2 Gilles Meloche Hockey Card (Front)
1973-74 O-Pee-Chee 2 Gilles Meloche Hockey Card (Back)
1973-74 O-Pee-Chee NHL Checklist
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Card Notes
Audio Version:
Gilles is rarely out of position, and can recover from a sprawling save in a split second. He broke into the NHL with Chicago, but now is considered the foundation of the California team. Gilles’ style has been compared to the great Terry Sawchuk.
En Français
Gilles est rarement hors de position et il peut se relever en une fraction de seconde. Il débuta dans la LNH avec les Hawks. On le considère maintenant comme la fondation de l’équipe de Californie. On a comparé son style à celui de Terry Sawchuk.
Details
For Gilles Meloche, the 1972-73 NHL season was the busiest of his career. He appeared in 59 games for the California Golden Seals, posting a 4.06 goals against average with a single shutout. The Seals were dismal, finishing ahead of only the expansion New York Islanders in the standings.
His one shutout in 72-73 came on March 18, 1973 at home against a much stronger Minnesota North Stars team. Joey Johnston scored just 50 second into the game, assisted by Craig Patrick, for what would be the game winning goal in a 2-0 shutout. Meloche turned away just 20 shots for the blank. In the nets for Minnesota was a young Gilles Gilbert. Gilbert was considerably busier, facing 37 shots.
The Chicago Blackhawks drafted Gilles in the fifth round of the 1970 NHL Amateur Draft but he would appear in just two games with the club, both during the 1970-71 season. After arriving in Oakland, he was immediately the team’s number one goalie for the 1971-72 season, appearing in 56 games. He got a single vote that year for the Calder Trophy, finishing fourth behind Ken Dryden, Rick Martin and Marcel Dionne.
Between 1970-71 and 1987-88, Gilles Meloche appeared in 788 regular season and 45 playoff games in the National Hockey League with the Blackhawks, Golden Seals, Cleveland Barons, Minnesota North Stars and Pittsburgh Penguins. Over the summer of 1985, he was a member of the Edmonton Oilers but was traded to the Penguins before the 1985-86 NHL season began.