Dylan DeMelo (born May 1, 1993) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing with the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League (NHL). DeMelo was selected by the San Jose Sharks in the 6th round (179th overall) of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

Dylan DeMelo
DeMelo with the Worcester Sharks in 2015
Born (1993-05-01) May 1, 1993 (age 31)
London, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb)
Position Defence
Shoots Right
NHL team
Former teams
Winnipeg Jets
San Jose Sharks
Ottawa Senators
NHL draft 179th overall, 2011
San Jose Sharks
Playing career 2012–present

Playing career

edit

Junior

edit

DeMelo played four seasons (2009–13) of major junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) with the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors and Mississauga Steelheads, recording 25 goals and 125 points in 218 games.

DeMelo was Mississauga's nominee for both the Ivan Tennant Memorial Award and Bobby Smith Trophy for the 2010–11 season. Both trophies recognize academic excellence.[1]

Professional

edit

San Jose Sharks

edit

DeMelo was selected 179th overall in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft by the San Jose Sharks[2] and he signed an entry-level contract with the organization on April 20, 2012.[3] He made his NHL debut with San Jose on October 17, 2015, in a game against the New York Islanders.[4] DeMelo scored his first NHL goal against goaltender Roman Will on January 26, 2016, in a 6–1 San Jose victory over the Colorado Avalanche.[5]

After completing his second full season with San Jose in 2017–18, DeMelo was an impending restricted free agent and was initially not tendered a qualifying offer by the Sharks.[6] Despite the limited opportunity to explore free agency, DeMelo ultimately re-signed with the Sharks for two more years on July 7, 2018.[7]

Ottawa Senators

edit

DeMelo was involved in a blockbuster trade on September 13, 2018,[8] as he was dealt by San Jose to the Ottawa Senators as part of a package including Rudolfs Balcers, Chris Tierney, Josh Norris, a conditional 2019 second-round draft pick and a conditional 2020 first-round draft pick, in exchange for Ottawa's captain and two-time Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson.[9]

In his first season in Ottawa, DeMelo recorded 22 points in 77 games and was paired with the franchise's top defensive prospect Thomas Chabot. "I've been very pleased", he said of his debut season with the Senators, noting that the Ottawa coaching staff trusted him to play a top-four role, an opportunity he had never received in San Jose.[8]

Winnipeg Jets

edit

On February 18, 2020, DeMelo was traded by the Senators to the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for a 2020 third-round pick. At the time of the trade, he had recorded 10 points in 49 games.[10] He appeared in 10 regular season games with the Jets before the season was paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Returning for the post-season, DeMelo led the club in short-handed ice time through 4 games in a qualifying series defeat to the Flames.

On October 7, 2020, DeMelo opted to forgo free agency and was signed to a four-year, $12 million contract with the Jets.[11] Following the signing of his contract, DeMelo said his "first choice was Winnipeg" and he had unfinished business in the city.[12]

Personal life

edit

DeMelo is a Portuguese Canadian.[13] In January 2021, DeMelo and his wife Jessica had their first child together.[14]

Career statistics

edit
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2009–10 Mississauga Chargers OJHL 36 9 20 29 24
2009–10 Mississauga St. Michael's Majors OHL 20 0 1 1 12
2010–11 Mississauga St. Michael's Majors OHL 67 3 24 27 70 20 1 4 5 15
2011–12 Mississauga St. Michael's Majors OHL 67 7 40 47 70 6 1 1 2 13
2011–12 Worcester Sharks AHL 4 0 1 1 2
2012–13 Mississauga Steelheads OHL 64 15 35 50 68 6 1 3 4 6
2012–13 Worcester Sharks AHL 10 0 4 4 6
2013–14 Worcester Sharks AHL 68 2 22 24 51
2014–15 Worcester Sharks AHL 65 5 17 22 32 4 1 2 3 6
2015–16 San Jose Barracuda AHL 15 0 6 6 2
2015–16 San Jose Sharks NHL 45 2 2 4 14
2016–17 San Jose Sharks NHL 25 1 7 8 14
2017–18 San Jose Sharks NHL 63 0 20 20 34 10 0 1 1 4
2018–19 Ottawa Senators NHL 77 4 18 22 32
2019–20 Ottawa Senators NHL 49 0 10 10 31
2019–20 Winnipeg Jets NHL 10 0 0 0 6 4 0 0 0 2
2020–21 Winnipeg Jets NHL 56 0 9 9 20 5 0 0 0 2
2021–22 Winnipeg Jets NHL 76 1 12 13 28
2022–23 Winnipeg Jets NHL 75 6 21 27 50 5 0 2 2 6
2023–24 Winnipeg Jets NHL 82 3 28 31 36 5 0 1 1 2
NHL totals 554 17 127 144 265 29 0 4 4 16

References

edit
  1. ^ "OHL Announces Academic Player of the Year Award Winners". ontariohockeyleague.com. April 14, 2011. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
  2. ^ "101 CHL Players Selected in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft". ontariohockeyleague.com. June 25, 2011. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
  3. ^ "Sharks sign defenseman Dylan Demelo". San Jose Sharks. April 20, 2012. Retrieved April 20, 2012.
  4. ^ Kurz, Kevin (May 19, 2015). "Sharks notes: Depth tested headed into Rangers game". CSN Bay Area. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
  5. ^ Colpitts, Ian (January 28, 2016). "DeMelo scores first career goal". mississauga.com. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  6. ^ "Sharks decline qualifying offer to DeMelo". ESPN. June 25, 2018. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
  7. ^ "Sharks re-sign defenseman Dylan DeMelo". San Jose Sharks. July 7, 2018. Retrieved July 7, 2018.
  8. ^ a b Garrioch, Bruce (December 25, 2018). "Dylan DeMelo and the Ottawa Senators are a perfect fit". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  9. ^ "Sharks Acquire Two-Time Norris Trophy-Winning Erik Karlsson from Senators". nhl.com. National Hockey League. September 13, 2018. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  10. ^ "Jets acquire defenceman Dylan DeMelo from the Ottawa Senators". nhl.com. National Hockey League. February 18, 2020. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  11. ^ "Jets sign Dylan DeMelo to a four-year contract". nhl.com. National Hockey League. October 7, 2020. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
  12. ^ Bernhardt, Darren (October 7, 2020). "'1st choice was Winnipeg': Dylan DeMelo thrilled to re-sign with Jets to 4-year, $12M deal". cbc.ca. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
  13. ^ "Sharks Player of the Week: Dylan Demelo". worcestermag.com. Worcester Magazine. December 18, 2014. Archived from the original on October 22, 2020. Retrieved March 15, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  14. ^ Wyman, Ted (January 23, 2021). "JETS SNAPSHOTS: New dad DeMelo returns to lineup after missing four games while tending to wife and son". Winnipeg Sun. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
edit