D-man DeMelo is Mr. Dependable

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/02/2020 (2025 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA — The Winnipeg Jets traded for Dylan DeMelo because they needed a conscientious defender, not a blue-liner with a flashy, brazen side.

His former coach and a couple of guys he went to battle with prior to Tuesday’s deal were unanimous in their assessment that the Central Division squad, fighting for a playoff spot, obtained a player who fits the bill.

“He’s a no-maintenance player. He’s prepared, he comes to the rink, he stretches, he does all the things he has to do. And he shows up to play every night. He’s a guy that’s been around long enough in this league that he doesn’t go running around out of position, makes a lot of smart plays,” said Ottawa Senators head coach D.J. Smith, after his club’s morning skate Thursday. “He’s having the best game when you don’t even notice him, and then all of a sudden you go on the tape and he broke up five or six plays.”

Winnipeg sent a third-round pick in this summer’s NHL draft to Ottawa in exchange for the unrestricted free agent, who made his Jets debut against the Senators Thursday night and recorded three shot blocks in 18:36 of ice time.

Ottawa’s top defenceman, Thomas Chabot, who was paired with DeMelo on many nights, loved playing with him because of his intelligence and dependability.

“They’re getting a smart player, a good two-way defenceman. Any time he gets the puck he’s making a smart play. He’s not necessarily going to be the more fancy player out there, but everything he does he knows what he’s doing,” Chabot said. “He’s a good defenceman that you can really trust both ways on the ice. He can make plays, he can make stuff happen, but at the same time he’s really solid in his own zone.”

With the Jets due into Ottawa Thursday, it made sense for DeMelo to stay put after the trade was announced. He joined his new teammates Wednesday when the Jets arrived at their downtown hotel, then skated with them at Canadian Tire Centre on Thursday morning. 

Clearly, it was strangest road game of the 26-year-old’s hockey career. He admitted it was odd taking the stairs to the bowels of the arena and bypassing the dressing room door he’s become so accustomed to entering since he became Sens’ property prior to the 2018-19 season.

“A little weird. Funny coming in here and going to the away locker room. But everybody has been great so far. Very welcoming. It was good to get out there and skate with the guys. So everything has been really good,” said DeMelo.

Wearing a No. 12 jersey instead of his usual No. 2 in Ottawa, DeMelo, a right-shooting blue-liner, was partnered with Nathan Beaulieu on the third pairing as Winnipeg kicked off a four-game eastern road trip. Coincidentally, Beaulieu is pretty much the only familiar face. Both are from the London, Ont., area, and have skated together during the off-season.

DeMelo’s offensive numbers don’t drop jaws — he’s still looking for his first goal of the season to go with 10 assists in 49 games — and he rarely makes the evening TV highlight reel. But in Ottawa and, before that, San Jose, he wasn’t regarded as a maker of costly mistakes, either

Jets bench boss Paul Maurice would prefer the substance of his game remains exactly the same in Jets attire.

“I’m expecting him to play the exact same game that he’s played over the course of his career. Exceptionally consistent in a details game. He’s in the right spots and he competes in those right spots,” said Maurice. “His stick is good, his reads are right. I wouldn’t say necessarily a quiet game, but it’s a word that’s used because he’s exceptionally effective in what he does — and that’s the game that we’re looking for.

“We’ve got some really good men on our blue line, really good character guys. But we’ve got a bunch of guys that haven’t spent a lot of time in the NHL over the last couple of years. We’ve needed a right-handed shot, so there’s a lot of things that he adds. But for sure, we don’t feel like we needed the 50-goal scorer. We needed help on our blue line, depth on our blue line, certainly on the right side of the ice.”

Speaking with a large gathering of reporters, DeMelo said he wasn’t particularly shocked  he was moved prior to Monday’s NHL trade deadline. He said contract talks with the Sens hadn’t stalled; they hadn’t really started.

“We were a week out and no (contract) talks. With being a UFA and there being a rebuild for the Sens, it was pretty evident that the writing was on the wall for me. I was maybe just surprised because it was on a game day… but, realistically, I definitely saw it coming,” he said.

“Just eating at the kitchen table with my wife and saw a call from (general manager Pierre Dorion). When you see Pierre’s calling at this time of year and you haven’t had much contract negotiations, I figured I was getting dealt.”

 

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPJasonBell