Dylan DeMelo watched most of the season from the press box. No longer able to bounce between the Barracuda and the Sharks thanks to a new contract, he was utilized as a seventh blueliner, only playing in 25 games.
In those 25 games, though, he had a bigger impact than last season. He doubled his points from 2015-16 in just over half as many games this year. DeBoer seemed open to playing him more, especially with the various injuries to the defensemen this season, but a broken wrist sidelined DeMelo for eight weeks in January.
Despite being in and out of the lineup, DeMelo remained a good possession player, his CF% dipping just under 50 at 49.