Melville Arthur "Sparky" Vail (July 5, 1906 – January 29, 1983) was a Canadian ice hockey player. He played 50 games in the National Hockey League for the New York Rangers during the 1928–29 and 1929–30 seasons, scoring four goals and five points. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1926 to 1943, was spent in the minor leagues.
| Melville Vail | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born | July 5, 1906 Meaford, ON, CAN | ||
| Died | January 29, 1983 (aged 76) Toronto, ON, CAN | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) | ||
| Weight | 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence/Left wing | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for | New York Rangers | ||
| Playing career | 1926–1943 | ||
Vail scored his first NHL goal on February 10, 1929 versus the Montreal Canadiens at Madison Square Garden. It was the final goal of the game, which ended in a 3-3 tie.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1926–27 | Springfield Indians | Can-Am | 31 | 17 | 6 | 23 | 73 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 16 | ||
| 1927–28 | Springfield Indians | Can-Am | 39 | 18 | 4 | 22 | 92 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 14 | ||
| 1928–29 | New York Rangers | NHL | 18 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 16 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1928–29 | Springfield Indians | Can-Am | 22 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 42 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1929–30 | New York Rangers | NHL | 32 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1929–30 | Springfield Indians | Can-Am | 9 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1930–31 | Providence Reds | Can-Am | 38 | 12 | 21 | 33 | 44 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1931–32 | Providence Reds | Can-Am | 36 | 7 | 18 | 25 | 40 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1932–33 | Providence Reds | Can-Am | 41 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1933–34 | Windsor Bulldogs | IHL | 42 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 53 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1934–35 | Cleveland Falcons | IHL | 43 | 8 | 24 | 32 | 47 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1935–36 | Pittsburgh Shamrocks | IHL | 45 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 52 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1938–39 | Toronto Red Indians | TIHL | 30 | 3 | 15 | 18 | 57 | 13 | 4 | 14 | 18 | 28 | ||
| 1939–40 | Toronto Red Indians | TIHL | 33 | 3 | 25 | 28 | 30 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | ||
| 1940–41 | Toronto Red Indians | TIHL | 27 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1941–42 | Toronto Red Indians | TIHL | 16 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1942–43 | Toronto Red Indians | TIHL | 9 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| Can-Am totals | 216 | 68 | 66 | 134 | 341 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 32 | ||||
| NHL totals | 50 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 26 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||||
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database