part 2, melovsky. unlike silayev/yegorov, although i had seen melovsky in passing throughout the season, he wasnt a player i was actively watching at the time
What stands out most about his game is his anticipation, particularly off-puck. Melovsky has an exceptional feel for the game and frequently finds himself in the right lane at the right time. Offensively, he’s excellent at sneaking into pockets of space for scoring chances, and he’s great at keeping himself an option for his linemates thanks to his positional instincts and ability to predict the opposition’s movement. Defensively and in transition, Melovsky seamlessly cuts off passing lanes before the puck carrier even realizes, and his timing on strip attempts is second to none.
probably the hallmark of his game, always knows whats going on and where to be. while there are questions of scalability that ill get into later, this is one of those things you can always expect to be a strength for him
On the puck, Melovsky’s game is one of patience and poise. This is not a player who breaks down defenses or overwhelms as a transitional threat; rather, he's very much a take what is given to him player. I want to clarify that I don’t say this negatively, he rarely makes mistakes because of it, and some of the reactions and split-second decisions he’s making are so high end, it’s not like just any player would be able to capitalize on these opportunities in the same way he does. He’s certainly capable of dangling and outskating defenders at times, but he’s way more content to let the opposition make a mistake that he can capitalize on, and he has enough confidence on the puck to hold it long enough to bait out those opportunities.
so the premise of his poise/patience/confidence on the puck is all still valid, but in reading that back, i think i underestimated his assertiveness in transition and made him sound lower tempo than he is. sure, hes not this huge explosive presence or a guy whos always looking to push the pace of play, which i think is why i didnt see it as much at the time, but he can definitely back defenders up and force open options. what i think
did change this season was the consistency/willingness to blend his deception/poise/handling with greater intensity on the puck/more of the contact driven play he shows off it
Pairing seamlessly with this, Melovsky thinks the game two-three steps ahead of the opposition. He’s deceptive to the point of basically slowing the game down for himself, allowing for quick cuts around defenders who step up, and near instantaneous puck movement away from danger. He has a great understanding of not just the available ice in front of him, but of which pockets of space will remain open as play progresses, and even in some of his greatest highlight reel plays, you’ll notice it’s all about making deliberate movements. Melovsky is about as slippery and evasive as a player can be without having high level skating or handling ability.
basically the same thing here, i think theres this middle ground between me somewhat underrating his game beyond his processing as well as melovsky genuinely progressing his on puck play to the point of his vision/deception/manipulation being a
piece of the puzzle as opposed to the primary method of gaining the zone/finding passing lanes/etc. even if the skating/handling arent quite NHL high end, theyre both pretty good at this level, probably better than i made them out to be, and he had his fair share of flash with them
Most striking, to me at least, is his physical play. Melovsky is by no means a traditionally physical player, i.e. in terms of being some big, heavy hitter, but he has some incredible physical instincts and is excellent at initiating proactive contact. Melovsky almost seems to enjoy leaning into defenders and playing off them as he drives lanes. He’s great at creating separation with his body while also shielding the puck in the process, and he does all of this in motion, too. Melovsky might not be a high motor player per se, but he’s always moving, and he pretty much never shies away from having to work his way through contact if need be. He’s strong on his skates, calm under pressure, and never gives up on play even as defenders hound him.
In his own zone, Melovsky’s physical play almost replicates that of a defender at times. In front of the net, he’s excellent at challenging forecheckers and using both body play and stickchecking to tie them up. Along the boards and while competing for pucks, although I wouldn’t say he’s diving head-first into battles, he’s great at boxing out opponents along the boards, be it for his linemate to come away with the puck or for his own ability to pry it free. Just like his play with the puck, everything Melovsky does is so cerebral and so calculated.
again this is all still very much apparent, but i think my miss here is not projecting how he could blend these tools together, how that physicality and lean into contact could be applied
with his deception and
with his handling to be harder to match offensively. so much of the discussion seems to be on it being a puck protection/defensive tool to get pucks up which, sure, was valid at the time, but didnt properly gauge how he would employ it
with the puck and how he could use it to drive lanes
himself
What I think starts to become a projection concern is that a lot of this great play is possible due to the space he has to work with. He’s not facing the biggest, fastest, or strongest players in the QMJHL, nor is he really going up against that many defenders with professional outlooks in any capacity, and I think that makes it easier for him to challenge these lanes, particularly for such a mentally advanced player. A lot of forwards who really try to slow the game down for themselves are still elite level talents, and that’s not quite Melovsky, so I want to see how he holds up against defenders who can catch back up to him after getting baited, or overpower him in spite of how well he positions himself under contact. Even internationally, it always felt like his most impressive plays were coming on the man advantage when he had more time and space to operate. Of course, none of this takes away from the great instincts and intent we’re seeing now, I just don’t know if we should have confidence in it scaling yet.
A lot of his offensive generation is like this, too. His passing game, while still very good and I don’t mean to imply otherwise, is typically based on targeting low-risk lanes. He can thread some pretty cross-ice passes and dish some sneaky backhand chances, but it’s important to note that he’s not typically threatening high danger opportunities or challenging when traffic is present; rather, he’s just trying to ensure the pass connects. Again, I don’t mean to say this is an outright negative, I’m just left to wonder how many of these opportunities he’ll get as the difficulty goes up. When he doesn’t have access to these lanes, he just keeps driving with the puck to find one, and this overzealousness can absolutely get him into trouble when he inevitably succumbs to pressure or is forced into a turnover.
there are things that are sill true here, concern over Q scaling, maybe an overzealousness with the puck, etc., but if i had correctly anticipated the skill blending i just talked about, i dont think i wouldve emphasized this as much. the viewings i had this year were certainly not just take-what-he-can-get type plays, he was an active threat on the puck
Perhaps the greatest issue with projecting his game right now is his current identity, which, to me, is a blend of two different outlooks that might be incompatible for him at the NHL level. In some respect, he plays like a top-end, play-driving center. He loves the puck on his stick, he’s always trying to command play in the offensive zone, and he’s constantly slipping in and out of scoring chances. While his defensive coverage and ability to gap up are both typically good, he does like to play pretty high up for a center, and he’s usually threatening to be first man out of the zone. To his credit, though, Melovsky is quite good at pressuring defenders into making mistakes at the point, or at the very least forcing them to drop back and out to avoid doing so.
On the total opposite end of the spectrum, Melovsky also plays like a checking line center who loves to play into contact, is more than willing to operate along the boards, and will backcheck hard and intensely to get quick counterattacks going the other way. To me, I think Melovsky might need to lean into only one of these sides long term, and basically grow his game around it. As savvy as he is, I don’t know if he’s naturally talented enough to play that far up the lineup. While he does have some quick bursts in transition, his overall skating profile is just fine, his shot isn’t that much of a weapon beyond a reasonably quick release, and his playmaking game requires long and frequent puck touches that he probably doesn’t get alongside better talent. For a more offensively leaning outlook, I think he needs to work on quicker puck movement and greater interest in challenging high danger opportunities at the expense of deferring to efficiency all the time.
To slot in as more of a checking line option, I think he needs to up his pace a bit and, while I know I complimented his physical play a lot, still work on being more 50/50 friendly in a way. Again, so much of his play is about being cerebral and picking his spots, which is completely fine now since he’s so smart, but to land in this type of role, I think he’ll need to challenge play more directly and with a greater intensity than he currently does. Deeper defensive zone play, more times being first man in on a puck battle, a greater acceptance to just get pucks on net or send them deep rather than trying to make the perfect play every time. Of course, I’m not saying there’s no avenue for him to combine both these profiles long term, he certainly has the framework from which to do so, but that would essentially be projecting him as an all-day 2C (or better) which I’m not about to do for an overager who barely cracked a point per game rate in his D+2 season in the Q.
this i still kinda stand by, and its ultimately the reason every glowing report i had ended with "but hes an overager in the Q so dont get too excited." he can get away with doing everything at this level because he has the size, processing, experience, etc. to do so (and i mean...he did, becoming both a top scorer and top defensive presence). but i still think a
pro outlook is gonna require him leaning one way or the other and, at least to me, things like the more conscious defensive zone effort/positioning, the better assertiveness/contact driven play on the puck, etc. is him starting to forge that identity. his mind for the game will always give him a bit more leeway to play up (if he hits) but i think that type of stuff coupled with a little late season intensity boost starts to make him look like a guy who can move pucks on a checking line
Lots to say on Melovsky. Much more than I would have anticipated coming out of the draft, but I think that’s just characteristic of how he plays. By nature, nothing Melovsky does really has that much of a wow factor to it, so I think it’s easy for him to go underappreciated. But, really diving into his game now, there’s a lot he does well. The vision, the timing, the instincts, the playmaking, the poise, the physical play, the two-way projectability, there’s just so much to his game that’s intriguing and should lend itself to giving him a lot of different avenues to hit. Now, I think there’s still plenty of work to be done here, but when you’re talking someone this confident on the puck, and this dominant of a one-on-one player without it, there has to be some sort of optimism it’ll work out. The first four selections we made were all in my pre-draft top 100, and while there’s virtually no scenario where I would have found myself ranking Graham or Louhivaara there, I do wonder if it winds up being a mistake that I didn’t originally pay enough attention to Melovsky; I think I like him more than the bottom chunk of my board and almost all of the honorable mentions.
fine with all of this, think he was a savvy late round grab by the scouting staff. i imagine if i had watched him more intently throughout the season i mightve had a better read on what his progression would look like, but ultimately theres only so many players i can watch in a year, and dropping off a double overager didnt feel like that much of an issue at the time
as i keep saying, im not ready to anoint him anything until i see how things work at the pro level (physical holdup, how fast he looks, how good of a playmaker he is against tighter defenses, etc.) because a 21yo coming out of the Q is a very awkward projection to make on top of the fact that, however complimentary i may be, his profile/resume isnt exactly cant miss. but im very pleased with the season he had. if you asked me what i wanted to see this year, i wouldve said a boost in intensity, a more defined identity, less reliance on space to create plays, etc. and basically everything, to varying degrees, did happen. and really, when you have 3rd party outlets calling a late round double overager a riser or a player who boosted his stock, you kinda know things are coming together
very, very eager to see him with utica. obviously cheering for him to continue his trajectory and develop into the same all situations workhorse for utica that he was with BCD, but if nothing else he'll at least give the names down there some actual talent down the middle to work with. of the three players im writing about, hes the one im most curious to see where hes at this time next year
Always the one to find some way to be sarcastic. Never change!
I must admit I did chuckle a little. "Little" lol
I'm with you all the way on that. I sure hope you are right about Casey! He would be the icing on the cake.
We are using "cherry on the cake" for the same idiom. Fun little difference.
I have stated in another post that I sure hope you are correct about Casey. Ive blown nearly $1,000 for my season ticket renewal and being able to watch Seamus again would be worth it, especially because he only gets better.
Never shared a dream with any one, but I have been doing the same. After last season there is little else to do until something better actually happens.
