Hockey always has played a huge role in the life of Adrien Melrose, the new varsity boys coach at Christian Brothers Academy, a college preparatory school in Albany, N.Y., that plays in Section II.
Melrose’s father is Barry Melrose, who won a Calder Cup as coach of the AHL’s Adirondack Red Wings in Glens Falls in the 1991-92 season and is a former NHL player/head coach and current hockey analyst. Adrien remembers his childhood being spent bouncing around from town to town due his father’s busy hockey schedule. He said it wasn’t until he was a teenager that the Melrose family settled down in Glens Falls.
Melrose played the sport growing up, referring to himself as a “slow forward” but never had any intention of coaching. He told his father, ‘I am never going to do that,’ and Barry responded with, ‘Wait until you have kids.’ His father was spot-on.
Now he's navigating the world of boys high school hockey in New York and trying to get his team to play up to some high standards.
