Matyas Melovsky was used to disappointment. Two seasons ago, he was injured while playing for his Czech U20 team (HC Vitkovice), missed three months, and failed to make the playoffs. He went undrafted. He then came to North America to play for the Baie-Comeau Drakkar of the (former) Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), where he scored just six goals in 69 games and went undrafted again.
But after growing a bit and transforming his game, Melovsky heard his name called in the sixth round of the 2024 NHL Draft, 171st overall by the New Jersey Devils. “It was a dream come true. Me, my parents, and my sister were sitting in my living room…then I got a call from my agent that it was the New Jersey Devils. I was a little bit emotional. I was really happy,” Melovsky told The Hockey Writers.
Melovsky Improves Dramatically
It’s rare that twice undrafted players get drafted on the third try, but Melovsky’s play warranted it. He averaged over a point-per-game pace for Baie-Comeau this past season, with 60 points in 53 games and tripled his goal production – from six to 18.
The Czech center has grown to 6-foot-2, 190 pounds and is a well-rounded, physical winger who plays great defense and can chip in offensively. The strides in his game were very evident in his season-to-season plus-minus. In 2022-23, he finished with a minus-4 rating. Just one season later, he concluded his campaign with a plus-42.
The 2024 World Junior Championships certainly helped his case, too, as his 11 points were tied for third in the tournament, behind first-rounders Cutter Gauthier (Anaheim Ducks) and Jiri Kulich (Buffalo Sabres) – who each had 12. Melovsky played a major role as the leading scorer for the Czech squad that upset Macklin Celebrini and Team Canada in the quarterfinals.
Watching him at development camp’s 3-on-3 tournament, he gave the opposition zero space. His active stick and timing stood out, even in the fast-paced nature of 3-on-3 hockey. He also has sneaky good offensively, especially at dishing the puck, which lines up with Elite Prospects’ scouting report of Melovsky before the Draft: “(His) physical skills feed his playmaking game. He leans against opponents, squeezes them off the puck, and then immediately launches it to teammates standing in more space. But he’s not just a complementary player. His give-and-goes and occasional dangles under stick put him under the spotlight.”
When The Hockey Writers asked him to describe his play, he said, “I would say I’m a two-way (center) that is reliable on the ice. I can make some plays offensively, but I’m also reliable defensively. So, yeah, just a guy that’s going to do it all, I guess, be an all-around player.”
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Melovsky is no stranger to the bright lights – the World Juniors and his QMJHL playoff run prove that; he had 19 points in 17 playoff games as Baie-Comeau made a deep run. That’s why he was quick to praise the Devils fans who showed up to development camp, telling The Hockey Writers: “It was a great experience. I mean, it’s an NHL team with NHL fans, and I hope one day I’ll be able to play in front of these fans on the biggest stage.”
He also told The Hockey Writers that he plans on spending one more year in the QMJHL for his age-20 season and then hopes to be ready to play for the Utica Comets in the American Hockey League (AHL) afterwards. He’ll likely play a massive role for Baie-Comeau as they try to seek revenge for their loss in the QMJHL Finals.
Although Melovsky might never play top-line minutes, his ceiling should be a bottom-six, checking center who can provide secondary scoring support. Players like that are invaluable to a championship but typically fly under the radar, as he did. But as he eventually transitions to professional hockey, it should be a relatively smooth adaptation, given his defensive maturity. Could he have forgone the defensive details to score more points and boost his draft stock? Sure. But he didn’t, and that maturity speaks volumes and (hopefully) pays off in the long run.
Melovsky also became very close with the Devils’ two prominent Czech prospects, Petr Hauser and Jakub Malek. He told The Hockey Writers, “We didn’t know each other before the Camp, but I knew their names. We became friends here. Obviously, those guys (I’m close to), but everyone in this group was open, and I will say we all built a relationship, which is really nice.”
The Devils continue to show that character, physicality, and two-way maturity are on their checklist when they acquire a player – whether in the draft, free agency or via trade. Even though he might not be a “star”, Melovsky checks those boxes.
The Devils aren’t the only ones who noticed, either. He was projected to go as early as 16 spots before he was drafted (McKeen’s Hockey), and he participated in the Detroit Red Wings development camp in 2023. It may be three, four or even five years down the road, but the tools are there for Melovsky to thrive in an NHL role.
