Prospecting: 50 for Melanson

This story was originally published on March 20. It has been updated to include the final games of the Quebec League Major Junior League regular season.
When Kraken prospect Jacob Melanson was traded midseason from his Acadie-Bathurst club in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, the move proved seamless. His new team, the Sherbrooke Phoenix, had already set up a new billet family to provide a place to live and his own bedroom. The coaching staff and players welcomed him and his physical style of play along with, of course, his goal-scoring and playmaking prowess.
The smooth transition has paid huge dividends for Sherbrooke, Melanson, and the Kraken player development group. For Acadie-Bathhurst Titan, the six-foot, 206-pound forward had notched 25 goals and 19 assists for 44 points in 29 games. Since the trade, Melanson has played 29 games for the Phoenix, scoring 25 goals and adding 30 assists to his new teammates for 55 points.

Perhaps even more impressively, Melanson notched at least one point in his first 30 Sherbrooke games. The 30-game point streak is the longest in the storied QMJHL (aka the "Q") since now-NHLer Mathieu Joseph logged a 28-game point streak during the 2016-17 season.
While Melanson's streak ended this weekend with no points in a Friday win, he started a new streak (the QMJHL playoffs await) Saturday, scoring Sherbooke's first goal of an overtime victory and his 50th goal of the season. Last Wednesday, he scored a goal in the 30th game of his record-point streak, then added an assist on the overtime-winning goal. He finished with 99 total points in 59 games.
"I'm keeping it simple," said Melanson by phone recently. "I'm just playing how I need to play. Coming here, all the guys and the organization were very welcoming. It's an easy adjustment to keep my rhythm going."
With Melanson in the lineup, Sherbrooke went from good to elite with a post-trade record of 28-3-1 to clinch a playoff spot, first place in the Central Division, and, with Saturday's win, the Western Conference title conference as the league's regular season ended this weekend. Sherbrooke will now have home-ice advantage during the conference playoffs. Melanson opened the scoring in Saturday's clincher win.
"It was an amazing feeling seeing the puck go in for 50," said Melanson on Sunday. "Both games I scored [the 49th and 50th] were tight battles to the end. An even better feeling is being able to win our conference."
Melanson said when he joined the team after the trade, he and his Sherbrooke teammates forged a pact to win the Western Conference title, making it a singular focus "ever since."
"It's a good team," said Melanson. "Coming to a team that's going for it. You want them to respect you and know what you bring to the table, that I'm here to help the team. Everyone was very happy to have me here. It's nice to see. Everyone here is really close and we're always together.
Melanson and his agent were aware a trade was possible ("there were few teams in mind going into the trade period, but I didn't know exactly where I was going"), with Acadie-Bathurst Titan team officials keeping them apprised. Over the trade-deadline weekend, an offer of a first-round pick and second-round pick in the league's draft, plus a younger-age forward, sealed the deal.
"Bathurst has been great to me the last couple of years," said Melanson, who scored six goals and added three assists in 13 playoff games in 2021 and 2022 with Titan. "I thank them for everything that they gave me. I'm really happy for the opportunity to be able to go for a long run this year and hopefully win a [QMJHL and/or Memorial Cup] championship."
Before this season, Melanson said scoring 50 goals was on his target list of achievements. Competing for a QMJHL title was another objective. He finished the regular season seventh in the league in points, fourth in goals, and sixth in points per game.
Every other top-seven scorer in the league has played one to 10 more games than Melanson. He missed early season time because he was at Kraken training camp and also served a five-game QMJHL suspension for checking to the head in late October.
Melanson talks weekly with Kraken player development director Jeff Tambellini and/or player development consultant Justin Rai. One topic is the 19-year-old's "checking identity," said the Kraken's 2021 fifth-round draft choice who signed an entry-level NHL contract with the Kraken during camp. He turns 20 in April and will be eligible to play at the professional level next season.
"From the beginning of the year we have talked about hitting and other parts of my game," said Melanson. "They've both been great to me, very supportive. They teach me other aspects of my checking. I'm a physical player but sometimes it can get me in trouble. They are helping me find other ways to use my physicality."
There have been no incidents since and many goals and points since, including seven shorthanded scores, which is tied for second-best in the league. He scored most of them with his former team with Sherbrooke set on the PK. But the penalty-kill prowess and experience will be valuable as Melanson embarks on reaching the NHL level. For now, going on a long playoff run would be a welcome next step in playing for a welcoming team.
"It was stressful [early days of post-trade] because I only knew a couple of guys from playing together last season," said Melanson. "But it's very, very exciting now."