It was a special night for Amherst’s Jacob Melanson, who made his long-awaited NHL debut for the Seattle Kraken on Thursday against the Nashville Predators.
As noted in a story on the Seattle Kraken’s website, Melanson was so impressive during training camp that there was a supposition he might be one of the first call-ups to the NHL roster this season, only for a broken ankle to derail his arrival.
Cross-Continent Plane Ride Well Worth It
Guess the happiness is even more buoyant for Melanson’s parents, fiancé, and hometown trainer, who flew in from Nova Scotia on Thursday to be on hand here in the world’s country music capital. Melanson was grinning from ear to ear when revealing the travelogue. He morphed back to his determined self when asked about working through the injury.
“I told myself at the start, you’ve gotta go through adversity to do anything in life,” said Melanson, who becomes the fourth 2021 Kraken choice to make his NHL debut and it is safe to assume fourth-rounder and Firebirds defenseman Ville Ottavainen will realize the same hockey dream soon enough. “I knew it was going be a little road bump for me [understatement but typical Melanson toughness]. That I had to keep working. Obviously, it just makes these [first NHL games) times even better.”
In his media scrum later, Melanson diverted from his hard-on-puck-and-body checks demeanor to allow some tenderness about debuting in the NHL and loved ones in town: “This is where I wanted to be since I was a three-year-old kid, lacing them up. This is very special to me. I’m gonna try to soak it all in and enjoy the moment … I tried to hold back tears when I called my mom [Jennifer] … it’s an emotional time for us two, a lot of dedication she’s put in to get me here. It’s gonna be a special moment to hug her tonight.”
Melanson assured he will be playing the same style that earned him his NHL promotion, even if he was a 50-goal scorer in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League, aka the “Q: “Not being scared and playing my physical game [which can come with occasional gashes [on the nose]. When you get an injury, you kind of sometimes might be scared coming back. But my focus was getting back into the game, no fear and just playing how I usually do.”
“Over the last year and a half going into the injury, Jacob was making a statement with his game, how he plays, the energy, the physicality and, I will say controlled puck play when he hangs out of the puck he can make positive puck plays,” said [Dan] Bylsma after morning skate. “It allows him to get to his physicality, allows him to get to the offensive zone, allows him to be a factor [scoring/setting up goals] … it’s not all brawn.”
Melanson played just one regular season game for Amherst during the 2019-20 season, tallying one goal and two assists against the Truro Bearcats. He played in three playoff games that season and was with the club when they hosted the 2019 Fred Page Cup, playing in the three round robin games for the home side.
The MHL congratulates Melanson on his spectacular achievements.