Mel Angelstad may only have two NHL games on his resume, but he’s one of the most colorful personalities that hockey has ever seen. He’s a minor-league legend who had over 400 penalty minutes on two occasions during his career.
He was over 300 PIM six times and was a complete goon. For example, although he only played two games in the NHL, he was the first player ever to wear No. 69 in a regular season game.
He appeared in two games with the Washington Capitals during the 2003-04 season, where he registered zero points and two penalty minutes. But Angelstad still found a way to fight one of the NHL’s toughest fighters ever.
It was every enforcer’s big dream to fight Bob Probert. When Angelstad got the opportunity to play Probert during a preseason game on Sept. 13, 1999, he wasn’t about to pass the opportunity.
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According to reporter Jeff Marek, Angelstad approached Probie and told him he was a huge fan and that he really wanted to fight him.
”Bob Probert would always say, ’Guys did it for me when I was a kid. I’ll do it for a kid anytime.’ So they threw down, and Angelstad told me, ’Bob caught me with three rights really fast, and all I could think of was how cool it was to actually be fighting Bob Probert as he punched me in the face!’” Marek said.
That’s also one of the reasons why Bob Probert was always so well-liked around the league. He showed massive respect to young enforcers and always gave everyone who wanted a chance to fight.
”He would take that fight, because he got that chance as a kid, and I respect that about Bob Probert, and I loved watching him play, and I loved watching him fight,” legendary GM Brian Burke said.
