Melrose, Who Coached T-Birds, Knew Seattle Pre-Kraken History

City’s Embrace Of Kraken No Surprise To Former Coach

Iconic NHL coach and broadcaster Barry Melrose died Sept. 9 at the age of 70.
This is the untold story on his one year coaching the WHL Seattle Thunderbirds.

“When I came out of playing,” recalled Barry Melrose, “my goal was to coach in the NHL in five years. Even when I was 22 years old, I wanted to get into coaching. You can’t be scared to dream.”

In 1988, that dream brought Melrose to Seattle. Earlier that year, he’d led the Medicine Hat Tigers to a Memorial Cup title. When Tigers general manager Russ Farwell took the same job with the Seattle Thunderbirds, Melrose asked for $60,000 to wear two (Medicine) hats as coach-GM. Except owner owner George Maser called Melrose’s $60k ask “absolutely ludicrous.”

Melrose resigned, following Farwell to Seattle as T-Birds coach. “Seattle was the laughing stock of the WHL,” Melrose recalled years later. Jim Dobson had been fired after a 25-win season. “They had nothing going right. Russ brought a different culture in.”

‘This Is A Beautiful City’

“This is a beautiful city with a hockey team ready to burst onto the scene,” Melrose said. “I simply can’t wait to get started.”

What a beautiful start it was. At the home opener on Oct. 8, 1988, a sellout of 4,141 packed the Center Arena. A thousand more were turned away. Melrose’s Thunderbirds rewarded the faithful with a 7-1 rout of the Spokane Chiefs.

Star center Victor Gervais, who would score 54 goals and 119 points, was sold. “(Melrose) is always getting us fired up. Last year we used to come to practice and we weren’t ready. Now if we aren’t ready the coach will tell us to hit the showers.”

Glen Goodall, a prodigious Seattle goal scorer (63, 53, 52, 76), credited Melrose for improving his two-way game. “I had the ability to play defensive hockey all along, but I never placed any value on it. Barry taught me not just how to play it better, but to care for it, to work for it, to value it.”

No Kraken Coach Had A Season Like This

Kraken, Melrose

No one – not Gervais, Goodall, or Melrose – could imagine the roller-coaster season that lay ahead.

In one 12-game stretch, Seattle both scored and allowed 50 goals. Yet the team posted a 2-9-1 record.

Still, Melrose was building his unique coaching style. “I believe the coach has to be the authority figure,” he explained, “but I don’t want to be a czar. We don’t want a bunch of robots. We want them to know what’s going on and why we’re doing things. I’m the type of coach who gets close to his players.”

As a player himself – 300 NHL games on defense and 178 more in the WHA – Melrose had built a reputation as a tough customer on the ice, and a fun-lover off it. “I tell the kids the good things about hockey, about what the game has done for me. I also tell them about what happens if you’re not prepared and you try to cheat hockey.”

When he sensed “cheating,” Melrose leaned on the colorful, pointed language that later made him a beloved ESPN commentator.

After a loss to Spokane: “We were awful. Every time this team has a chance to rise in the standings, it freezes up.”
After an OT loss to Portland: “No one wanted to make the big mistake, instead of someone wanting to make the big play.”
After a loss to Tri-City a week later: “The minute we get a chance to move up, some guys go in the tank.”

Thunderbirds Make Strong Closing Statement

There were high points, too. In February, the T-Birds beat league-leading Swift Current in overtime. They denied Portland the chance to clinch the Western Division title by rallying with four 3rd period goals in a 6-5 victory. Seattle closed the season with seven straight wins, a franchise record, to finish 33-35-4.

Unfortunately, that was one point short of a playoff berth. “I can still remember, we needed Portland to win the last game of the year. If Portland wins, Seattle’s in the playoffs. We were playing great; nobody wanted to play us. Somehow, Portland ended up losing that game.”

The T-Birds would suffer one more loss – of their coach. Despite receiving a contract extension, Melrose on July 18, 1989 became coach of the AHL Adirondack Red Wings, one of his former clubs.

“My goal has been to get a head coaching position in the NHL, and this is an important step,” he said at the time. “But it will be hard to tell (Thunderbirds players). I’ll just talk to them and explain what happened. The hardest part is that I won’t be involved in their development anymore.”

“Eventually, he’s going to be a great coach,” Farwell said.

And a beloved figure in the hockey community, gone too soon. Simmer wrote this tribute in 2023.

Kraken, Barry Melrose