Melville Vail

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.

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 seasonPlayoffs 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