In his first professional hockey game, in 2023, Jacob Melanson showed the home crowd at Acrisure Arena exactly who he is as a player. In the first period, he was penalized for cross checking and then fighting. He ripped his helmet off and raised his arms to incite the roaring crowd on his way to the locker room.
That kind of mentality has endeared Coachella Valley Firebirds fans to the Nova Scotia native. So, it probably wasn’t any surprise to many that Melanson leads the NHL in “hits” per game and per minute this season.
Melanson, a 22-year-old forward, has played in just 21 games this season for the Seattle Kraken, the Firebirds’ NHL affiliate. But he has 110 hits on opposing players in those games.
“It’s a bit outrageous, but not surprising to those who know his game,” said Troy Bodie, the Firebirds’ vice president of hockey operations.
A hit is described as a legal body check used to separate an opponent from the puck. It’s a skill that takes timing, positioning and control, not just brute force.
A great hit doesn’t simply knock a player down or away from the puck. It often changes the momentum of a game, fires up the bench and the crowd and can make an opponent hesitant next time they handle the puck.
“It’s a great example to our young guys,” Bodie said. “Young guys sometimes think they have to score a bunch of goals to earn a spot. But there’s different ways to impact the game and it’s not always with your stick.”
To put Melanson’s number of hits this season into proper prospective, consider that the only Kraken player with more hits is Eeli Tolvanen, with 136. But Tolvanen has played in 54 games and 880 minutes to Melanson’s 21 games and 202 minutes.
Yakov Trenin leads the NHL in hits, with a whopping 282. But he’s done it in 57 games and 754 minutes. That means that Melanson is averaging a hit every 1.8 minutes on the ice and the NHL’s hits leader is averaging a hit every 2.6 minutes of ice time.
Tye Kartye, a former Firebird forward who now plays for the Kraken, set the team record with 229 hits during his first full season with Seattle, in 2023-24. Ryker Evans, another former Firebird, recorded 123 hits last season. So, it says a lot about the toughness of the Kraken that some of their best hitters came through the Coachella Valley.
About Melanson’s number, the question is whether that kind of unreal production is sustainable.
“Yeah, I don’t know how sustainable it is because it puts such a toll on your body,” said Bodie, a former player. “But he’s doing what he has to do to earn a spot and it’s working.”
Wednesday’s game
San Jose 2, Coachella Valley 1: In a low-scoring game in Northern California, it was the host Barracuda earning the narrow win. The Firebirds’ Jani Nyman scored the team’s lone goal with just over a minute left in the game, but Coachella Valley couldn’t get the equalizer despite having 38 total shots on goal. Goalie Victor Ostman played well, stopping 41 of 43 shots. The Firebirds are now 23-15-5-0 and are in a tie for fifth place. They continue their road trip with games at Henderson on Friday (7 p.m.) and Saturday (6 p.m.).
Andrew John covers the Firebirds for The Desert Sun and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at andrew.john@desertsun.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Seattle Kraken’s Jacob Melanson leads NHL in hits per game
Reporting by Andrew John, Palm Springs Desert Sun / Palm Springs Desert Sun
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
