Rick Merlini once said he dropped the gloves if an opposing player fired a strange look his way on the ice.

He’s a big man, a devoted body builder who seems like he could lift one of the homes he builds. He’s an intense man, one who will tell you like it is and make sure you listen to every word.

That will make his 15 minutes of fame truly must-see TV.

Merlini, father of former Otter Derek Merlini (2003-05), appeared on Sunday night's episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (WJET-TV). American Heartland, LLC, Rick’s building company in Macomb Township, Mich., built the 4,000 square-foot home featured on the show in early August.

His company, picked from a group of 1,200-plus builders in the Detroit area, built a house with seven bedrooms, four-and-a-half bathrooms for an Armada Township, Mich., family. The 1,500 workers, consisting of his employees and sub-contractors, built the home in 53 hours, 54 minutes, shattering the show’s previous record of 96 hours, Merlini said.

Yet, one scene stole the show. As Merlini said, he shed some tears when asked about building the home for the family’s children, whose father, according to ABC's Web site, died of complications from a dangerous mold in their old home.

“You make good TV,” Denise Cramsey, the show’s co-executive producer, told him one night over dinner. Cameramen compiled 250 hours of film, Merlini said. The show’s producers had to cut that footage down to 44 minutes. The scene of Merlini showing his emotions was the only one Cramsey guaranteed would appear on the show, he said.

Move ahead to last week, when Merlini spent a bunch of time doing local commercials promoting the show. He’s a home builder with a unique approach to life. Only someone like that could continue playing a round of golf while speaking with a top producer about being on the show.

Apparently, while this producer pitched the idea behind the episode back in June, Merlini handed the phone to his son, Derek, so he would tee off. He completed the hole while talking on his cell phone.

Only someone like Merlini could get 1,500 people to help build this home. At one point, he said, the crew ran out of the yellow hard hats they wore while working. Only someone like Merlini could become close friends with some of the show’s cast and crew.

“I did it because of the experience,” he said. “It doesn’t matter how much money in the world you have, you couldn’t buy this experience.”
By the way, keep an eye out for Derek, the former defenseman, who appears in an early scene, when the workers walk proudly down the road to greet the family. Derek also appeared for a brief moment when the show’s main star, Ty Pennington, asks the bus driver to “Move That Bus.”

-- Victor Fernandes
victor.fernandes@timesnews.com