Golden Knights trainer ready to transition from Cirque du Soleil to hockey

Jay Mellette was happy attending to the needs of 1,300 performers in Cirque du Soleil. He wasn’t looking for a new job.

Then he met Murray Craven, and everything changed.

Craven, the Golden Knights’ vice president, was on a fact-finding mission to identify possible candidates for the team’s medical staff. Having seen Cirque’s amazing athletic performers, he was curious as to how they managed to stay fit performance after performance.

That led to an introduction to Mellette, who had been with the Montreal-based company for 12 years and was responsible for keeping Cirque’s performers healthy.

They talked. They talked some more. And it became evident to Craven that the guy he was looking for to be the hockey team’s head trainer was right in front of him.

On Monday, the team announced Mellette as its head trainer and director of performance medicine.

“I’m lucky to go from one great job to another,” Mellette said. “Murray is a good, honest man.

“What has me excited is we’re starting something new. It’s a once-in-a-career opportunity, so I’m flattered to be part of this.”

Craven said: “I always want someone who’s smarter than I am. That was certainly the case with Jay. He’s a well-read, articulate, passionate, enthusiastic guy.

“He’s also someone who knows everyone in the Las Vegas medical community, and he will be a huge part of building our medical staff since he knows and deals with the top physicians in town with Cirque.”

Mellette will be responsible for 23 players instead of 1,300 performers. That will take some adjustment. The NHL schedule is 82 nights. Cirque is a year-round endeavor.

“No question it will be different,” Mellette said. “I think hockey players represent speed, grit and skill. This is going to be a very different approach than what I’ve been doing.”

One thing Mellette will have is the best of everything for his work environment. Golden Knights owner Bill Foley spared no expense in the sports medicine area, setting up elaborate space at T-Mobile Arena and the team’s practice facility in Summerlin.

“That’s another part that’s exciting,” Mellette said. “We want to approach the care of our players from a scientific angle. We’ll have the things we need to do that.”

Mellette, a Daytona Beach, Florida, native, didn’t grow up with hockey. But he follows the game and had seen the Colorado Avalanche when he worked with the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer. Since joining Cirque, he has followed the Montreal Canadiens.

Now, he has his own team to work for.

“For me, this is not just a sports story, this is a coming of age for the city,” he said of Las Vegas joining the major leagues with the Golden Knights. “We’re becoming a diverse city, and I’m just flattered to be part of this.”

Contact Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow @stevecarprj on Twitter.