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Fantasy Summary

A successful KHL starting goaltender who is ready to bring his talents to North America


Observations

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June 2022- Melnichuk signed a two-year deal in May to play for HC Sochi in the KHL. He played 31 games for the Barracuda in the AHL, posting a 3.92 GAA and 867 SV%. He then played six games for Tampa’s ECHL affiliate, the Orlando Solar Bears, posting a 3.04 GAA and 895 SV%.

Melnichuk has performed well in the KHL the last few years, so it’s reasonable to be hopeful that his next two years will help him regain some confidence so he can return to North America with some swagger. However, it’s entirely possible he remains in the KHL for the rest of his playing career. Tampa retains his rights until the end of the 22/23 NHL season. Caleb Kerney.

March 2022 – Melnichuk has been traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning. He has a chance to back up Vasilevski in the future if he progresses to the NHL. Pat Quinn

May 2021 – Melnichuk’s first full season after signing in San Jose was nothing short of a rollercoaster ride. The netminder began the season on loan to the KHL where he had posted a dazzling 1.68 goals-against average to go along with a .930 save percentage just one season ago. Rather than returning to SKA St. Petersburg where he had found tremendous success, he was loaned to Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod, a far inferior team. Although he was unable to match his stellar numbers from one season before, the Russian backstop posted a respectable 2.68 GAA and .912 save percentage in fourteen starts. Unfortunately, the downward trend in his numbers continued when he came to North America. His AHL performance was mediocre at best, finishing the season with a GAA over three and a sub .900 save percentage. The damage did not stop there though, as he slid into his first two NHL starts and one relief appearance for the Sharks down the stretch. Melnichuk gave up eleven goals in his first two outings as a starter. Not exactly the way that  the young netminder had surely hoped his NHL career would begin. To his credit, Melnichuk was promoted to the taxi squad and then demoted to the AHL on what seemed like a weekly basis sometimes. Although he did not have to travel far, the uncertainty alone is enough to throw any goaltender off their game. Melnichuk may not have gotten off to a hot start in North America, but his numbers overseas should give Sharks fans some confidence in their goaltending pipeline. With the departure of Devon Dubnyk and the struggles of Martin Jones this season, Melnichuk will most likely compete with teammate Josef Korenar for a roster spot with the Sharks in 2021-2022. Another likely scenario could see a three goalie rotation until a clear starting tandem is determined. Alex Howes

Attributes
Fantasy Upside 5.0
NHL Certainty 4.5
Country RUS
Position G
Roster Type Free Agent, Junior
Shoot/Glove Left
Date of Birth June 29, 1998
Height 6‘1”
Weight 192 lbs
Drafted No

Stats

 Season Team League GP GAA SVS%      Playoffs GP GAA SVS%
 2014-2015 SKA St. Petersburg U17Russia U1722 1.77 .939|      
  SKA St. Petersburg U17Russia U17 Finals4 3.69 -|      
 2015-2016 SKA-1946 St. PetersburgMHL15 2.24 .915|Playoffs3 3.04 .892
  SKA-Varyagi St. PetersburgMHL B9 2.64 .891|      
 2016-2017 SKA-Neva St. PetersburgVHL17 1.63 .932|Playoffs0 - -
  SKA-1946 St. PetersburgMHL17 2.26 .924|Playoffs1 2.92 .889
 2017-2018 Russian Selects U20Jr Super Series5 1.96 .926|      
  SKA St. PetersburgKHL2 2.68 .900|      
  SKA-Neva St. PetersburgVHL19 1.66 .935|Playoffs8 1.85 .937
  SKA-1946 St. PetersburgMHL3 2.34 .873|Playoffs1 5.30 .778
  Russia U20WJC-201 6.00 .750|      
  Russia U20 (all)International-Jr9 - -|      
 2018-2019 SKA St. PetersburgKHL0 - -|Playoffs0 - -
  SKA-Neva St. PetersburgVHL30 1.73 .924|Playoffs9 1.10 .963
  SKA-1946 St. PetersburgMHL1 0.00 1.000|Playoffs2 1.51 .938
 2019-2020 SKA St. PetersburgKHL16 1.68 .930|      
  SKA-Neva St. PetersburgVHL8 1.95 .925|Playoffs10 2.16 .937
  Russia II (all)International1 2.05 .933|      
 2020-2021 Torpedo Nizhny NovgorodKHL14 2.68 .912|      
  San Jose SharksNHL3 5.05 .864|      
  San Jose BarracudaAHL17 3.47 .868|      
 2021-2022 San Jose SharksNHL0 - -|      
  San Jose BarracudaAHL31 3.92 .867|      
  Orlando Solar BearsECHL6 3.04 .895|      
 2022-2023 HK SochiKHL8 2.58 .922|      
  Traktor ChelyabinskKHL4 5.70 .750|      
  Avangard OmskKHL2 3.00 .857|      
  Omskie KryliaVHL4 5.49 .817|      
 2023-2024 Torpedo Nizhny NovgorodKHL0 - -|      
  Lokomotiv YaroslavlKHL4 1.23 .938|Playoffs0 - -

Highlights