Teammate Adam Lowry has played for Canada at Worlds before and knows the kind of boost it can give a player through the summer and beyond.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt can do a lot for your confidence. It can do a lot, kind of springboard you into the off season and then into the next season. So, Dylan’s a bright guy. He usually tries to take advantage of those situations. And in talking to him, he really enjoyed the experience,\u201d said Lowry.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, I was very happy to see him get to go over there with Gabe and Mark. And unfortunately, they weren’t able to win it and do as well as they could have, but I think it’s going to be a beneficial experience for him for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n
DeMelo didn\u2019t know it at the time \u2013 but he would be going up against a soon-to-be teammate in Viggo Bj\u00f6rck, who Winnipeg selected eighth overall in June.<\/p>\n
The Jets haven\u2019t had a chance to draft this high in years, and DeMelo got an early look at what their newest first-round pick can bring while playing against Sweden at the World Championship. Bj\u00f6rck didn\u2019t look out of place playing against NHL veterans, and DeMelo was impressed by the 18-year-old\u2019s speed, skill and willingness to compete.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s exciting. Exciting for our group, exciting for the organization,\u201d DeMelo said. \u201cTo be able to get a guy like that. We haven\u2019t drafted that high in a long time. So, to get a guy that looks like he can step in and hopefully be a contributor right away is crucial for our group. A young guy, a lot of energy, a lot of speed. He\u2019s got some skill for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n
DeMelo saw that competitiveness firsthand at Worlds, where Bj\u00f6rck wasn\u2019t intimidated by the level of competition \u2014 even when he found himself going up against some of the biggest names in the game.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt Worlds there I felt he was really tenacious and really went after guys and wasn\u2019t kind of starstruck, I guess, until after the game, asking Sid (Crosby) for a stick,\u201d DeMelo said. \u201cI was teasing him, saying, \u2018Geez, you\u2019ve played one game against him, and you had more stones to ask him for a stick than I\u2019ve had in my career.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
The story is a good example of the perspective DeMelo has gained since arriving in Winnipeg in 2020. He\u2019s about to begin his seventh full season with the Jets, and along the way, the Manitoba capital has become more than just a place where he plays hockey. He\u2019s made friends, built a life and raised his family here.<\/p>\n
So, while there may be questions surrounding Connor Hellebuyck\u2019s future with the Jets, there\u2019s no question where DeMelo stands when it comes to Winnipeg.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve loved my time here,\u201d DeMelo said. \u201cIt\u2019s my home away from home, so for me, this place is an amazing place to play. An amazing place to raise a family.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Teammate Adam Lowry has played for Canada at Worlds before and knows the kind of boost it can…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":888585,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194296],"tags":[49,48,22073],"class_list":["post-888584","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-winnipeg","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-winnipeg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/888584","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=888584"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/888584\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/888585"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=888584"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=888584"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=888584"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}