Most of Julian Melchiori’s four-year pro career has been spent in the AHL, but he’s been busting his hump to become a permanent fixture at the next level.
The 6-4, 209-pound defenceman played 12 regular-season games as a late-season call-up for the Winnipeg Jets in 2015-16. Though the reviews were generally positive, Melchiori wasn’t content to play within himself after a season in which he also played 62 games for the AHL’s Manitoba Moose.
He was 24 and needed something.