Dylan DeMelo

Zachary DeVine

8 years ago

demelo

Dylan DeMelo, D
Shoots: R	Height: 6-0	Weight: 194
Born: 1993-05-01	Hometown: London, ON, CAN	Drafted: 2011 round 6 #179 by San Jose Sharks

Observations:

January 2017 – DeMelo spent most of the early part of the season as a permanent attendee to the Sharks' press box. However, a rash of illnesses and injuries forced the Sharks' extra defenseman into action. DeMelo's preparation and professionalism immediately took over, and he looked as if he'd been playing every game. DeMelo skated in 14 contests in about six weeks of action. He already matched last year's point production of four points in fewer than a third of the games played. Unfortunately for DeMelo, he broke his right wrist on Jan. 10 and won't be back until early March. Long-term, he remains part of San Jose's blueline plans, especially with the likelihood of losing a defenseman in the expansion draft. Zachary DeVine

October 2016 – DeMelo is another defender that the Sharks picked up in the latter stages of the NHL Entry Draft and developed into an NHL starter. He has been impressive at training camp and scored the game-winning goal in overtime against the Phoenix Coyotes in preseason action. DeMelo has OK size, but has very good on-ice vision and can make a crisp pass out of the defensive zone or carry it out himself. Looking at the Sharks bottom four defensemen (Brenden Dillon, David Schlemko, Mirco Mueller, and DeMelo) DeMelo is the only right-handed shot. The Sharks have suddenly a plethora of capable depth on the blue line and the development of DeMelo has a lot to do with it. He and Mueller are battling it out for the seventh defenseman spot, and DeMelo has done more to win that job. Zachary DeVine

August 2016 – DeMelo finally got a taste of the NHL last year. After years of grooming by the Sharks, the 2011 sixth-round pick played more than half the season in San Jose. In 45 contests, DeMelo had two goals and two assists and formed a solid pairing with Brenden Dillon. The dependable style of DeMelo and his solid zone-exiting passing ability was a good match for Dillon's physical presence and crease clearing ability. The two complemented each other well, but the Sharks late season acquisition of Roman Polak from the Toronto Maple Leafs bumped DeMelo out of the line-up. DeMelo's grasp on an NHL job remains uncertain, despite his positive progression as a responsible right-handed defender with a good first pass. The Sharks lost free agent Polak back to the Leafs on July 2nd but signed David Schlemko to a four-year pact the day before. Barring an unforeseen trade or injury, DeMelo will likely see little ice time. He'll likely be the Sharks seventh defenseman headed into the 2016-17 season. Zach Devine

September 2015 – As the summer winds to a close, with it comes training camp battles and Dylan DeMelo is about to fight for his right to ~~paaaartay~~ stick in the NHL. San Jose has five absolute locks for their backend this season: Marc-Edward Vlasic, Justin Braun, Brent Burns and Paul Martin make up the top four with Brendan Dillon keeping them on their toes. Mirco Mueller should take another step in his development and hold down a spot on the third pair. That leaves Chris Tennyson and Dylan DeMelo to fight for the seventh defence gig. DeMelo's AHL coach Roy Sommer had this to say of the two-way rearguard, "I think he looks really good. This is his year. I think he's going to come to camp and make a big splash… He's a guy that you're not going to fall in love with because he doesn't wow you with anything, but he's as steady as you're going to get." A strong camp will go a long way in DeMelo stepping onto the ice for his first NHL game. – Cam Robinson

June 2014 – Demelo had a strong first season with the Worcester Sharks. He scored 26 points in 67 games, but only two of them were goals. He does fight a fair amount, but that is not what defines him as a player. He’s a leader on all the teams he plays for. He isn’t overly large, but he could find himself in a couple seasons getting a taste for NHL hockey. Tim Graveline

Fantasy Outlook: C

Decent upside. He projects as a bottom-pairing defensemen, but San Jose has found ways to groom late-drafted defensemen and turn them into something more than most scouts saw.

Footage:

Nice little skirmish with Demelo:

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