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![\"Ruth](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/3670418_web1_250609-Jets-party-funds-.jpg\")
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Ruth Bonneville \/ Free Press Files<\/p>\n
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Dylan DeMelo, right, and True North Sports & Entertainment Executive Chairman Mark Chipman present a cheque for money raised at Winnipeg Whiteout Street Party events during the Jets\u2019 playoff run last spring.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThis community is amazing. People here I\u2019m going to have as life-long friends. I\u2019m just so fortunate,\u201d DeMelo, 32, told the Free Press earlier this week in a one-on-one conversation that went far beyond typical topics like defensive structure and penalty killing.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been a dream fit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now into his sixth full season in Winnipeg, DeMelo has realized one very important thing about this place:<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Jets? They\u2019re Winnipeg,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s funny, I\u2019ll go to my kid\u2019s school and be like \u2018Hi there, it\u2019s nice to meet you.\u2019 And they\u2019re like \u2018We know who you are.\u2019 People will say \u2018You guys are so down to Earth.\u201d Well, yeah, we\u2019re just very fortunate to play a sport for a living.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been a dream fit.\u201d<\/p>\n
His appreciation for the city also means occasionally defending it when Winnipeg takes a hit from some of his peers in player polls, free-agent decisions, or no-trade clauses.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not a fair representation. And it is sometimes disappointing because I know how much Winnipeg has to offer, and how much the organization is trying to be the best that they can be,\u201d said DeMelo.<\/p>\n
\u201dOnce you\u2019re here, you don\u2019t want to go.\u201d<\/p>\n
DeMelo has seen the bad-mouthing up close. He was part of the 2017-18 San Jose Sharks team that made headlines when a video surfaced of players ranking Winnipeg among their least-favourite cities to visit. Tomas Hertl described it as \u201ccold and dark,\u201d while Justin Braun jokingly wondered if the city even had Wi-Fi.<\/p>\n
DeMelo acknowledged that visiting for a one-game stop in winter is very different from living here year-round.<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Nick Wass \/ The Associated Press files<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Jets defenceman Dylan DeMelo says \u2018once you\u2019re here, you don\u2019t want to go,\u2019 of living in Winnipeg.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s so nice to have that community outside the arena, people you can depend on if you\u2019re in a pinch. I think that\u2019s what makes Winnipeg unique, for sure. There really is that sense of community,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I\u2019m on the road, my wife sometimes might be overwhelmed with both the boys. And our neighbours will be like, \u2018Hey, we\u2019ll take them over here to give you a bit of a break.\u2019 And the kids want to play with each other, so it\u2019s great.\u201d<\/p>\n DeMelo said the decision to stay put was based on several factors, including what they felt was best for their growing kids. They did make a trip back home this summer to visit extended family in London, but that was essentially \u201cvacation.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf it was just myself, or me and my wife, maybe (shuffling around) would be OK. But when you have kids, and you have to move them from school and their friends and all the activities they\u2019re doing, that\u2019s so hard,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s so nice to have that community outside the arena, people you can depend on if you\u2019re in a pinch. I think that\u2019s what makes Winnipeg unique.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt was nice, after this past season ended, I was able to hang out with neighbours a little bit more because obviously I wasn\u2019t playing. I was able to have that time.\u201d<\/p>\n Living in the Winnipeg neighbourhood they do helped seal the deal.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been in the same place for five years now. It was a new development so a lot of people came in together at the same time. It reminds me a lot of where I grew up,\u201d DeMelo said.<\/p>\n \u201cI had all my buddies down the street. We\u2019d come home from school and your parents would be like, \u2018Hey, whose house are you going to? OK, come home before the street lights come on.\u2019 I really like that in Winnipeg, people go outside, even when it\u2019s cold. They go hang out, they go to the outdoor rink.\u201d<\/p>\n So how, exactly, did we get here? For DeMelo, it\u2019s been a long journey, one that began 14 years ago when he was drafted in the sixth round by the Sharks while playing for the Mississauga St. Michael\u2019s Majors of the Ontario Hockey League.<\/p>\n \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t\tThe Warm-Up<\/p>\n Winnipeg Jets Game Days<\/p>\n On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop.<\/p>\n \t\t\tSign up for The Warm-Up<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t He started his pro career a year later in Worcester with the AHL affiliate, making his NHL debut three years after that. Now in his 11th NHL season, DeMelo was traded to the Ottawa Senators in 2018 as part of the blockbuster Erik Karlsson deal, and then to Winnipeg in February 2020 \u2014 a third-round pick went the other way.<\/p>\n \u201cI knew on the ice there\u2019d be a good fit, because at the time there was a lot of turnover with the D-core. I knew there was a spot and an opportunity for me to go play with Josh (Morrissey), play with the great players we have here. But sometimes you never know off the ice,\u201d said DeMelo.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been so happily surprised that off the ice, it\u2019s been equal if not greater than the on-ice success.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s high praise, considering DeMelo has now signed a pair of contract extensions with the Jets \u2014 three years at US $12 million in the summer of 2020 ($3 million AAV), and four-years at US $19.6 million in the summer of 2024 ($4.9 million).<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Fred Greenslade \/ The Canadian Press Files<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n DeMelo and defence partner Josh Morrissey, right, watch as Jets\u2019 goaltender Connor Hellebuyck makes a save.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n He set a new career high in points in 2022-23, then re-wrote his personal record book again in 2023-24. He\u2019s been a key part of the NHL\u2019s stingiest defensive team for two consecutive years and watched as Morrissey has grown into one of the league\u2019s best blue-liners.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been a lot of dedication to the craft to be able to have that security. And it gives us such peace of mind, for sure,\u201d said DeMelo, who is signed through 2027-28.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been so fortunate to make so many friends here. In the community. On the team with the group of guys and their kids, the wives. This is the place, most likely when its all said and done, where I\u2019m going to have played the most of my career at. So for me that\u2019s very special.\u201d<\/p>\n mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n X and Bluesky: @mikemcintyrewpg<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Mike McIntyre Mike McIntyre is a sports reporter whose primary role is covering the Winnipeg Jets. After graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College in 1995, he spent two years gaining experience at the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 1997, where he served on the crime and justice beat until 2016. Read more about Mike<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Mike produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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