Before being drafted by the
Detroit Red Wings, Mellor played hockey for
Boston College. In the 1968–69 season, he scored nine goals and 19 points in his 17-game rookie season. In his sophomore season, he scored 21 goals and 44 points in 26 games. He scored a
hat trick for Boston College in a 13–6 win over
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. In his junior year in the
NCAA he had 40 points in 25 games for the Boston Eagles. During his years at Boston College, he led Boston College in assists on two occasions (1971: 30; 1973: 45) and was ranked third for most assists in a season at Boston College. He was also a two-time recipient (1971, 1973) of Boston College's Norman F. Dailey Memorial Award as the team's Most Valuable Player. He was inducted into the Boston College Varsity Club Athletic Hall of Fame in 1980. Mellor was drafted 68th overall by the
Detroit Red Wings in
1970 NHL Amateur Draft and played 26 regular-season games in the
National Hockey League for Detroit between 1973 and 1975. Mellor also played in the
American Hockey League for the
Virginia Wings; in the
International Hockey League for the
Toledo Goaldiggers; and in the
Swedish Elitserien with
Västra Frölunda. As a player in the IHL, he was named to the First-Team All-Star Team, he won the
James Gatschene Memorial Trophy and the
Governor's Trophy in 1977, his last season as a professional player before retiring. Mellor also played in the 1971, 1972 and 1973
Ice Hockey World Championship tournaments. Mellor was formally inducted into the Rhode Island Hockey Hall of Fame in 2022. At the same enshrinement ceremony, his 101-year-old father, Don Mellor, a pioneer youth hockey organizer, was honored by the Hall with the Malcolm Greene Chace Memorial Trophy for "Lifetime Achievement of a Rhode Islander to the game of hockey." ==Career statistics==