The native of Chatham, Ontario, played two seasons at Providence College where he was a consistent point producer. Kelly was signed as a free agent by the Philadelphia Flyers in August 1975. He played solid two-way hockey for the AHL's Richmond Robins and Rhode Island Reds for most of two seasons. In February 1977 he was traded to the Detroit Red Wings for under-achieving defenseman Rick Lapointe.

Kelly scored two goals in 16 games but had trouble getting the required ice time with the Wings. Detroit was a pretty solid club in the late 1970s and had Vaclav Nedomansky, Michel Bergeron, J.P. LeBlanc, and Dennis Polonich ahead of Kelly on the depth chart. He retired in 1978 after playing a year with Philadelphia Firebirds of AHL.

Courtesy of the Hockey Hall of Fame