Scott Metcalfe, a popular and gritty forward who played nine seasons for the Rochester Americans over two stints and 17 games with the Buffalo Sabres, died Friday morning, the AHL team announced. He was 58.
Metcalfe played for Rochester’s last Calder Cup championship team in 1996 and was inducted into the Amerks Hall of Fame in 2006.
Following his retirement from pro hockey in 2001-02, he lived and worked in Rochester, becoming a visible member of the Amerks Alumni Association.
After the Sabres acquired Metcalfe from the Edmonton Oilers on Feb. 11, 1988, he often played alongside Rob Ray and Kevin Kerr, a line of aggressive tough guys former coach John Van Boxmeer compared to a pinball machine.
“Every one of them hit everything that they could,” Van Boxmeer told the Times Herald earlier this year. “And you know what? They were not fun to play against, and it got the fans into the game, it got the team into the game, and they were a huge part of our success.”
In 1988-89, the trio combined for 993 penalty minutes.
The fun-loving players also lived together and showcased their personalities as they scrapped. Once, as they all fought in front of the Halifax bench, Metcalfe yelled to Ray they needed to buy milk when they got home to Rochester.
“He started talking about groceries we had to get home while we’re fighting these guys,” Ray told the Times Herald earlier this year. “I remember looking at the bench and they were like, ‘What the (heck) is this?’ That was just the way it was.”
Metcalfe, the 20th overall selection by the Oilers in 1985, earned occasional recalls to Buffalo during his first stint in the organization.
After playing overseas and in the ECHL, he returned to Rochester in 1993-94. He scored a career-high 32 goals and 70 points in 1996-97.
Metcalfe compiled a franchise-record 1,424 penalty minutes in 499 regular-season games with the Amerks.
He left the Amerks in 1998 and played three seasons overseas before retiring following a three-game stint in the United Hockey League.
Metcalfe is survived by his wife, Jane; sons, Tanner and Keegan; and daughter, Quinn.