Dr. Vaughn Bowen, who performed surgery on Mellanby Sunday at Toronto General Hospital, said he expected the 23-year-old hockey player to make a full recovery.
The Ontario Provincial Police officer who was at the scene of the incident said that Mellanby was coming to the aid of a friend, Jeff Frazer, who Mellanby felt was outnumbered in a fight. Mellanby then was hit on the forearm with a broken beer bottle by a man the police have identified as Frank Chapple.
Chapple, according to eyewitnesses interviewed by investigating officer Robert Parlardg, then slashed Frazer in the throat with the bottle.
Mellanby and Frazer were treated first at South Muskoka Hospital, then later transferred by ambulance to Toronto General Hospital, approximately 120 miles away. Mellanby will remain hospitalized for about a week. Frazer was released early Sunday morning.
Yesterday, a warrant was issued for Chapple's arrest on two charges of assault to commit bodily harm. As of last night, he was not in custody. Constable Parlardg said he is not investigating Mellanby's involvement any further and that charges only will be filed against Chapple.
"A friend of Scott's was being set upon," Parlardg said. "Scott went to his aid and wild man Chapple swung the beer bottle."
The officer said Chapple, who Parlardg interviewed at the scene without realizing he was the alleged assailant, had both a local address and another in Mississauga, Ontario, a Toronto suburb.
"We don't know where he is," Parlardg said.
The confrontation began when Frazer, part of a group of old Mellanby school friends who enjoy an annual, end-of-summer weekend at the Muskoka Sands Resort, asked a woman seated at a table to dance. Her boyfriend took exception and Frazer's shirt was torn in the ensuing confrontation.
