Dylan DeMelo (born May 1, 1993) is a Canadian professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the la ...

currently playing with the

Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and is owned by True North Sports & Entertainment, pl ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL). DeMelo was selected by the

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertainm ...

in the 6th round (179th overall) of the

2011 NHL Entry Draft The 2011 NHL Entry Draft was the 49th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 24–25, 2011, at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It was the first time the Draft was held in the state of Minnesota since the Minnesota North Stars hoste ...

Playing career

Junior

DeMelo played four seasons (2009–13) of

major junior hockey Junior hockey is a level of competitive ice hockey generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur (with some exceptions) and operate within regions of each cou ...

in the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overag ...

(OHL) with the

Mississauga St. Michael's Majors The Toronto St. Michael's Majors were a major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The most recent franchise was revived on August 15, 1996. In 2007, the team relocated to Mississauga, Ontario an ...

and

Mississauga Steelheads The Mississauga Steelheads are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League, based in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. The Steelheads play their games at the Paramount Fine Foods Centre in Mississauga. History The OHL originated in Missi ...

, recording 25 goals and 125 points in 218 games. DeMelo was Mississauga's nominee for both the

Ivan Tennant Memorial Award The Ivan Tennant Memorial Award is awarded annually to the top academic high school player in the Ontario Hockey League. It is named in honour of the late Ivan Tennant, a former education consultant for the Kitchener Rangers who worked to develop ...

and

Bobby Smith Trophy The Bobby Smith Trophy is awarded annually to the Ontario Hockey League Scholastic Player of the Year, who best combines high standards of play and academic excellence. The trophy is named for Bobby Smith, a former Ottawa 67's player. It is symbo ...

for the 2010–11 season. Both trophies recognize academic excellence.

Professional

San Jose Sharks

DeMelo was selected 179th overall in the

by the

and he signed an

entry-level contract A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless of ...

with the organization on April 20, 2012. He made his NHL debut with San Jose on October 17, 2015, in a game against the

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...

. DeMelo scored his first NHL goal against goaltender

Roman Will Roman Will (born 22 May 1992) is a Czech professional ice hockey goaltender currently playing with HC Dynamo Pardubice of the Czech Extraliga (ELH). He has formerly appeared in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Colorado Avalanche. Playin ...

on January 26, 2016, in a 6–1 San Jose victory over the

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The Avalanche play thei ...

. 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 A restricted free agent (RFA) is a type of free agent in the National Football League (NFL), National Hockey League (NHL), or National Basketball Association (NBA). Such players have special restrictions on the terms under which they can retain ...

by the Sharks. Despite the limited opportunity to explore free agency, DeMelo ultimately re-signed with the Sharks for two more years on July 7, 2018.

Ottawa Senators

DeMelo was involved in a blockbuster trade on September 13, 2018, as he was dealt by San Jose to the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a membe ...

as part of a package including Rudolfs Balcers, Chris Tierney,

Josh Norris Joshua Norris (born May 5, 1999) is an American professional ice hockey center currently playing for the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted in the first round of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft by the San Jose Sharks a ...

, 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 The James Norris Memorial Trophy, or simply the Norris Trophy, is awarded annually to the National Hockey League's top " defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position". It is named after Jam ...

winner

Erik Karlsson Erik Sven Gunnar Karlsson (; born 31 May 1990) is a Swedish professional ice hockey defenceman and alternate captain for the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Karlsson was drafted in the first round, 15th overall, by the Otta ...

. 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 Thomas Chabot (born January 30, 1997) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman and alternate captain for the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). Chabot was drafted in the first round (18th overall) by the Senators in the ...

. "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.

Winnipeg Jets

On February 18, 2020, DeMelo was traded by the Senators to the

in exchange for a

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

third-round pick. At the time of the trade, he had recorded 10 points in 49 games. He appeared in 10 regular season games with the Jets before the season was paused due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. 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. Following the signing of his contract, DeMelo said his "first choice was Winnipeg" and he had unfinished business in the city.

Personal life

DeMelo is a

Portuguese Canadian Portuguese Canadians ( pt, luso-canadianos, italic=no) are Canadian citizens of full or partial Portuguese heritage or people who migrated from Portugal and reside in Canada. According to the 2016 Census, there were 482,610 or 1.4% of Canadians ...

. In January 2021, DeMelo and his wife Jessica had their first child together.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:DeMelo, Dylan 1993 births Living people Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey defencemen Ice hockey people from Ontario Mississauga St. Michael's Majors players Mississauga Steelheads players Ontario Junior Hockey League players Ottawa Senators players San Jose Barracuda players San Jose Sharks draft picks San Jose Sharks players Sportspeople from London, Ontario Winnipeg Jets players Worcester Sharks players Canadian people of Portuguese descent