DeMelo has a new teammate

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This article was published 24/01/2021 (1686 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

While his teammates were flying up and down the ice for the first week of NHL action, Winnipeg Jets defenceman Dylan DeMelo was basking in the delight of welcoming a new teammate to his own family.

DeMelo and his wife, Jessica, announced the birth of their first child, a son named Caleb Andrew DeMelo, born Jan. 14.

“Life changing,” was how DeMelo described being a new father. “You try to play it out in your head how it’s going to be with the whole birthing process and the first few days being a dad and, I’ll just say the real thing doesn’t do it justice. An amazing moment for my wife and I and both of our families and we couldn’t be happier right now.”

Because baby Caleb was born in the early hours on the same day the Jets opened the 2021 regular season, DeMelo opted to stay home with his family. He also stayed back from the Jets ensuing three-game road trip to provide support for his wife, as they were unable to bring in additional family support owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Our due date was Jan. 15 so there was always that thought process that I might be missing the road trip with the COVID protocols. Pre-COVID I’d just be able to hop on a commercial flight and meet the team on the road trip. It was either I left with everybody or I didn’t go at all, so tough call to make and you feel like you’re letting the team down by not being there with the guys, but my wife and my son, I couldn’t let them down. I had to be there for them,” DeMelo said.

“I already kind of knew I’d miss that trip in training camp so I was hoping to at least get the first game in, but I guess my little guy had other plans. So I just watched every game and tried stay fresh with our systems, and really tried to watch how we were playing, and just working hard here, the best I could with staying in shape and just trying to work on some things while the guys were on the road.”

He added: “To give just an extra set of hands around the house to just help and support was crucial. It’s a lot on the moms, obviously. You get a lot more appreciation for it when you’re in it. My wife has been an absolute superstar and she’s been letting me sleep at night a little bit more than her, that’s for sure. Every moment we’re just cherishing. He’s already getting a bit of a personality, which is fantastic. He’s changing so much already every single day. They grow very fast and we’re just trying to soak it in the best we can.”

DeMelo was acquired by the Jets in a trade with the Ottawa Senators in February, a week before the NHL trade deadline, sending a 2020 third-round pick to Ottawa for the pending unrestricted free agent. Winnipeg then made DeMelo a priority in the offseason, extending the 27-year-old with a four-year, US$12-million deal. DeMelo said at the time he wanted to put down roots with the Jets, noting part of his decision to re-up with Winnipeg was because he considered the city a good place to raise a family.

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At the time of the signing, the NHL was well into an unpredictable off-season as COVID-19 was ravaging through the U.S. and Canada’s numbers were also climbing. The current global health crisis made for what DeMelo called a “different” experience, but he and his wife were doing everything they could to stay safe.

“As everybody has experienced, the whole world has been different. And for us, my wife wasn’t really doing much. She wasn’t going out and getting groceries, especially when we were back home. She was kind of staying home and I was the one having to go get the stuff and what not,” he said.

DeMelo played his first game this season Saturday night when the Jets welcomed the Senators at Bell MTS Place for the final game of a three-game mini series.

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

twitter: @jeffkhamilton

Jeff Hamilton
Multimedia producer

Jeff Hamilton is a sports and investigative reporter. Jeff joined the Free Press newsroom in April 2015, and has been covering the local sports scene since graduating from Carleton University’s journalism program in 2012. Read more about Jeff.

Every piece of reporting Jeff produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.