Factoring into Firebirds Success

While the American Hockey League affiliate Coachella Valley Firebirds are again atop the Western Conference standings for a second-straight season, there are even more positives to glean from the success on the ice. For Kraken prospect Jacob Melanson, it starts off the ice.

Melanson rooms with NHL-tested veteran John Hayden on road trips and lives with fellow Kraken hopeful Shane Wright in the Palm Springs area. Both players are helping Melanson adjust in his first pro season after a sparkling 2022-23 season in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

Hayden has willingly become a mentor for Melanson on how to be a pro who uses his physicality to the team’s advantage, game in and game out. Wright is a golf buddy, and both prospects compare notes on the ultra-competitiveness of teammates such as Hayden, captain Max McCormick, two-time Calder Cup winner Andrew Poturalski, and the just-recalled-to-the-Kraken Cale Fleury, among several more experienced pros.

“Jacob is developing in a huge way because of he wants to do it like John Hayden,” said Coachella Valley head coach Dan Bylsma. “He sees John’s preparation, he sees his work, he sees his competitiveness. Jacob is drawn to wanting to do it more like John and do it more like Max [McCormick] and [fellow prospect and ex-star in the QMJHL] Luke Henman.”

“John's been great to me ever since I got here,” Melanson said Thursday from a Bakersfield hotel room, about to head out to dinner with Hayden and other teammates before Friday’s road game. “He's a player that I look up to, and I try to learn some things from him. We are both physical players and play with a ton of compete. The way we succeed is being hard to play against, being heavy down low in the corners, and playing that tough and gritty game.”

Hayden and Melanson have made it a point to work together after the team practices end. The Hayden-Melanson play-physical checklist includes protecting the puck while skating with it, trying to find the open teammate in the slot/prime shooting area from behind the net, and working on “close plays in front of the net and other stuff like that.”

“John's helped me a lot,” said Melanson. “I love working with him and the stuff that he's working on. It’s been great.”

Like many young pros, both in the AHL and the next-level NHL, Melanson is worrying less about scoring goals (he notched 50 in 59 games in juniors last regular season, then eight more in 14 playoff games) and focusing more on his two-way game. His five goals and seven assists in 48 AHL games are far from telling the whole story.

“I knew coming into this year that points weren't gonna come easy,” said Melanson. “I'm working hard. If you look at the scoreboard, you're not gonna see my name up there too much. But if you look at shots and high-quality chances, I'm getting tons of good chances; I'm just not able to capitalize on it right now. In the first couple of months, I was just trying to bring my physicality and work ethic and know that I can compete with these players up here. That’s the biggest asset [this season] ... I know the points and goals will come.”

Melanson has appeared in 49 Firebirds games. He was out for a stretch with an injury. But there was a silver lining. Bylsma took the time to skate with the six-foot, 206-pound 20-year-old forward. No sticks, just working on skating technique applied to the heavy, physical game Melanson intends to play as a pro. Bylsma, who appeared in 429 NHL games with Los Angeles and Anaheim, brought his own player experience along with another impressive credential.

“It was awesome, especially because Sidney Crosby is the player he’s helped [as head coach of the 2009 Stanley Cup-winning Pittsburgh Penguins],” said Melanson, clearly enjoying the thought. [Crosby] is from my home province [Nova Scotia], it’s pretty cool to be able to relate to Dan in the same way.

For his part, Bylsma said Melanson has shown progress and toughness in equal measures since returning from the injury. The physicality is easy to establish as an AHL rookie.

“Jacob is a factor in each and every game he plays with his own game, the abrasive physical presence with speed and energy,” said Bylsma, in the throes of readying his squad for what he hopes is another deep playoff run. “He’s bringing it every night, and he’s matching the consistency of our team over the last 20 to 30 games [which includes points in 23 of the Firebird's 24 games].”

Along with mentoring from both Bylsma and John Hayden, Melanson said his housemate Wright has been another resource, both for improving his play and helping to relax on off days.

“We both love to play golf,” said Melanson. “We get as much golf in as we can without playing too much or getting too tired. It's great living with a player like Shane, being able to learn from him each day.”

Ok, last question: Who hits farther off the tee?

Melanson, laughing, doesn’t hesitate with the answer: “I would say me, and I think Shane would give the same answer.”