On Monday, San Jose Sharks general manager Doug Wilson announced that the team re-signed defenseman Dylan DeMelo to a two-year deal.
DeMelo, 23, played in 45 regular season games for the Sharks last season, tallying two goals and four points. Originally drafted by the Sharks 185th overall in the 2011 Entry Draft, DeMelo made the leap to the NHL after playing parts of five seasons with the Worcester Sharks and San Jose Barracuda of the American Hockey League. DeMelo, a 6’1″, 195-pound product of London, Ontario, has compiled 7 goals and 50 assists in 162 AHL games.
Kevin Kurz of CSN Bay Area reported that the contract is a two-way deal during its first year, followed by a one-way deal in the second year:
#SJSharks sign RFA d-man Dylan DeMelo to a two-year extension. No terms yet, but it’s a two-way deal this season, one way in 2017-18
— Kevin Kurz (@KKurzCSN) July 11, 2016
Despite not playing in any playoff games during the Sharks’ run to the 2016 Stanley Cup Final, DeMelo averaged over 13 minutes of ice time in 45 regular season games. Entering the 2016-17 regular season, DeMelo is seemingly the seventh defenseman on a deep Sharks defensive unit led by Brent Burns and Marc-Edouard Vlasic.
Shortly after signing the contract extension, DeMelo took to Twitter to reach out to Sharks fans with the following Tweet:
Excited to be staying with the @SanJoseSharks!! Can’t wait to be back at the tank. See you soon Shark fans!
— Dylan DeMelo (@ddems2) July 12, 2016