Mel Pearson was born in Vancouver on February 8, 1959, the son of Vancouver Canucks player George "Mel" Pearson. His father\'s playing career ended in 1973 as a member of the Minnesota Fighting Saints, and Mel, who had been playing since the age of six, played hockey in suburban Minneapolis at Edina East High School under coach Willard Ikola. Pearson was recruited to play college hockey by both Michigan and Michigan Tech, and he ultimately chose Michigan Tech after visiting the campus and "[falling] in love with the place". While on his visit, Pearson met with coach John MacInnes, who "made me feel so welcome, and I knew I wanted to play for him right away". Pearson played forward for Michigan Tech from 1977 to 1981 and scored 21 goals among 56 points in 97 games. As a senior, he helped the team advance to the semifinal of the 1981 NCAA Division I Men\'s Ice Hockey Tournament, where the team lost to Minnesota. Michigan Tech won the Great Lakes Invitational tournament four times in Pearson\'s four years as a player. He scored the tournament-winning goal in triple overtime against Michigan in 1979. Pearson graduated from Michigan Tech in 1981 with a degree in business administration.\n', '

In 1982, Michigan Tech promoted assistant coach Jim Nahrgang to head coach following MacInnes\'s retirement. Nahrgang and assistant coach Herb Boxer, who had both served on MacInnes\'s coaching staff during Pearson\'s time as a player, sought out Pearson to fill the other coaching position. "[T]hey were the ones that really got me into coaching. I hadn\'t really thought about being a coach until they approached me", Pearson said. In addition to his on-ice responsibilities, Pearson recruited players including eventual National Hockey League (NHL) regulars Randy McKay and Damian Rhodes, and Michigan Tech\'s first Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) scoring champion, Shawn Harrison. Pearson retained his assistant coach position when Boxer replaced Nahrgang, who resigned in February 1985, as head coach. During Pearson\'s tenure as assistant coach, Michigan Tech accumulated a record of 97–136–9. The team neither advanced beyond the first round of the WCHA playoffs nor qualified for the NCAA tournament.\n', '

After the 1987–88 season, Pearson accepted the position of assistant coach with the Michigan Wolverines under Red Berenson, who had just completed his fourth season as head coach. Pearson and fellow assistant Larry Pedrie focused heavily on recruiting, describing their typical schedule thusly: "We\'d practice, get in the car, go see a game somewhere, play our games on the weekend, then get back in the car to see a prospect play on Sunday night." The coaching staff\'s recruiting diligence, which continued after Pedrie left and his position was filled by David Shand and then Billy Powers, paid off. Beginning in 1991, the Wolverines qualified for every NCAA Division I Men\'s Ice Hockey Championship tournament for the remainder of Pearson\'s tenure. They advanced to the Frozen Four in eleven of those tournaments, and won the national championship in 1996 and 1998. More than fifty of the players Pearson helped recruit to Michigan have gone on to play in the NHL.\n', '

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