When the New Jersey Devils selected overage center Matyas Melovsky in the sixth round of the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, it immediately appeared to be one of ex-General Manager Tom Fitzgerald's best-value draft choices in the last couple of seasons. After all, Melovsky had a strong draft year in the QMJHL, putting up over a point per game in both the regular season and postseason.
After he was selected, Melovsky went off in his last campaign in the QMJHL, scoring 83 points in 57 regular-season games before making the jump to the AHL in 2025-26.
In his inaugural professional season on a weak Utica Comets team that generally struggled to score, Melovsky put up a somewhat respectable 10 goals and 26 total points in 55 games while playing in a predominantly middle-six role. He missed some time with injury, but was a key piece for the team when healthy.
In particular, he was menacing on the forecheck and used physicality to feed his playmaking game all over the ice. He was confident on and off the puck, with that physicality bleeding into his stalwart defensive game to boot.
The Devils might have a future NHLer in Matyas Melovsky
Those strengths have only been further shown in the Devils' 2026 training camp and preseason affairs, and Melovsky looks more ready than ever to contribute to an NHL lineup. He has two assists -- one primary, one secondary -- in his two appearances, and most recently handily led the Devils in GameScore in their shootout loss to the New York Rangers. In particular, his tenacity has stood out as a huge plus for the team, never saying die in terms of applying forechecking pressure, defensive pressure, and sticking with plays.
Based on preseason lines, Melovsky seems poised to begin the season on Utica's top line, alongside Lenni Hameenaho and Ben Steeves, two future NHL hopefuls. Of course, the logjam up front for New Jersey will prevent Melovsky from contributing now, but it does stand to reason that he could be the team's fourth-line center as soon as next season.
While his ceiling may be limited to a bottom-six capacity, Melovsky is the real deal. He'll get his NHL time soon enough. For now, he'll be a top fixture on a Utica team that looks far improved from where it was in 2025-26. Expecting a jump up from the less-than-half-point-per-game production he put up last season is a smart bet.
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