Swayman's personal coach aiming to grow game in Latin America

Jeremy Swayman followed an unlikely path to Team USA's roster at the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off. He wasn't selected for the USA Hockey National Team Development Program. He was cut by a team in the Tier II North American Hockey League. At the start of his U-18 season, he wasn't assured of an opportunity in Division I college hockey, much less the professional ranks.

By age 22, however, Swayman was in the net for the Boston Bruins during the Stanley Cup Playoffs. And when he works with his personal goaltending coach, Swayman shares the ice with someone whose improbable success story rivals his own.

PD Melgoza grew up in Southern California, near the border of Compton and Long Beach. He traveled thousands of miles to play Tier III junior hockey in places like Norfolk, Virginia, Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Kingsville, Ontario.

Melgoza did so in pursuit of his dreams -- and because his mother, Victoria Vega, urged him to move beyond the negative influences in his childhood environment. Vega arranged for him to attend Torrance High School with his cousin, current New York Mets outfielder Tyrone Taylor, instead of his neighborhood school in Long Beach.

"My mom did a really good job of keeping me away," Melgoza recalls. "It's hard to keep someone away from their family, but my family wasn't into great things with a bright outlook. [I'd play for] two or three teams a season, just to keep me away from the neighborhood. That helped.

"I used to record (NHL) All-Star Games. I have from '99 to 2010 recorded on VHS. I'd watch them every day. I'd watch those Stanley Cup championship videos. I'd just crush those.

"I'd stay at my hockey buddies' houses on the weekend. … It goes back to having really good people around you, people who are willing to help. It's not easy having your kid's best friend sleeping over for a week. They helped me get here, too."

In addition to his mother, Melgoza lists mentor after mentor: Steve Thompson, USA Hockey's manager of goaltending development; Jaroslav Modry, the former NHL defenseman and current Springfield Thunderbirds assistant coach; the late Jack Bowkus, longtime coach of the Los Angeles Jr. Kings.

Melgoza, 30, is in his second season as an assistant coach at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. He spent last summer as Team USA's video and goaltending coach at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, evidence of USA Hockey's growing confidence in him.

The tournament in Edmonton marked Melgoza's first opportunity with a USA Hockey staff during international competition.

"It's special," he says. "You can't explain the feeling you get, just going to breakfast and wearing the flag. You're walking past Sweden and Czech. You don't know it until you're in it. …

"At that moment, that's when it hit me. It's the dumbest thing: not Rogers [Arena], not the opening ceremony, it was going to breakfast."

Melgoza first lived in Alaska while serving as the volunteer goaltending coach at the University of Alaska Anchorage during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons. Melgoza's presence in the 49th state -- and indefatigable work ethic, more importantly -- created the opportunity to work with Swayman.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Swayman spent extended time in his hometown of Anchorage near the start of his Bruins career. Amid travel restrictions, goaltending coaches weren't making many house calls. Pros had to rely on nearby experts with access to ice. Melgoza met those criteria.

Thompson introduced the two. Melgoza did the rest.

"I had keys to the rink," Melgoza says. "We'd sneak in the back door and skate."

Melgoza has been a close confidant for Swayman ever since.

"To put it in perspective, during COVID, for nine months, anytime I had kids on the ice for lessons -- I was running a goalie school -- he was always helping out," Melgoza says. "He was always jumping on the ice. He never took a dime. He hadn't gotten paid yet. He'd signed [professionally], but he didn't play, so he didn't get his money.

"He'd show up, wouldn't tell anybody, help the kids, skate outside with the kids. Just a good dude. Drove a '99 SUV around. He had confidence in himself and knows who he is."

With Swayman -- and any goaltender in college or higher -- Melgoza is candid about the extent of his playing experience. As he's fond of saying, he's coaching at a level beyond the expanse of his own career. He tells goaltenders: "You're already better than me as a player."

Turns out, authenticity works.

"I did my homework, went to school, mentors," he says. "I've studied. I've learned. That's the biggest thing. I can't really go on my experiences. I go on vulnerability. I've learned from my previous boss, [Waterloo Black Hawks head coach] Matt Smaby. To gain trust, you've got to show vulnerability.

"The more open and honest you are with people in general, the more they're going to respect you."

As with many California natives, Melgoza's initial hockey experiences were on roller blades and not ice skates. He began playing roller hockey at Wilson Park in Torrance, Calif., and continued in competitive leagues until age 18.

Melgoza is the first person in his family to learn how to skate. His first pair were the four-wheel, strap-on type that attach to the bottom of shoes. He chose his position for the simplest and most compelling reason.

"The gear," he says. "I wanted to be a goalie right away."

Melgoza's exposure to ice hockey came in the form of attending Long Beach Ice Dogs games at the Long Beach Sports Arena.

"When the Ice Dogs came to town, I was 2 years old," he remembers. "My mom got free tickets because she worked at the loan agency in downtown Long Beach. … It was something cheap a single mom could do with her kid, so we'd go to hockey games."

Melgoza's given first name is Holden, but he's been known as PD for many years in hockey and beyond. He played youth hockey for the Los Angeles Junior Kings and California Wave, before his odyssey to Virginia, Indiana, and Ontario.

During his goaltending career, Melgoza's greatest influence was Jean-Sebastien Giguere. Melgoza studied video of the 2003 Conn Smythe Trophy winner and tried to incorporate his style, with one minor complication.

"He played really deep and really boxy, but he was also like 6-foot-4, and I was 5-4," he said, smiling. "It didn't really work. If I was scouting against me, make me move across the crease and put it by my ear."

Melgoza played his final game at age 22 and moved into coaching soon after that. In Melgoza's successful transition, two elements stand out: He is partially self-taught, through countless hours of video study, and has shown a willingness to bet on himself in powerful ways.

One example: Through a coaching friend, he heard about a USA Hockey goaltending camp that Thompson had organized. He cold-called Thompson, asking if he could help. Thompson said he didn't have any needs or budget to play for Melgoza's travel.

Not to worry, Melgoza told him: He would sleep on the floor of his friend's hotel room and work the camp as a volunteer.

What could Thompson say to that?

Melgoza showed up.

"I've always had that [attitude of], 'Yeah, whatever, I'll do it and we'll figure out the details,'" Melgoza says. "Anything to get your foot in the door."

Financial realities meant Melgoza had to find work immediately after his playing career ended. He jumped into coaching before enrolling in college. Now that his professional career is underway, he's working toward his degree.

In fact, the pursuit of higher education is a necessity for his job. Erik Largen, the Fairbanks head coach, has made sure of that: Melgoza's contract includes a provision whereby he's required to take classes.

PD will be the first member of his family to earn a college degree.

"For my mom," he says. "She wants that. It's a big reason why I took the job."

Melgoza, who has Mexican heritage on both sides of his family, has goals beyond a college degree. He wants to learn Spanish and help to grow the game of hockey in Latin America.

Melgoza speaks often about the importance of gratitude, which he expresses by helping the next generation. He is leading in a way that makes his own mentors proud, the most predictable part of his extraordinary story.