You might have gotten to see him on a bad night. And also the top prospect game is irrelevant. Meloche is a great prospect that has played like a #1 D in both his seasons in the Q. He does everything great on the ice, he's got size and hockey sense. I had him pegged as a 1st rounder and there were times during the season where I had him listed above Zboril and J.Roy. He has blown me away everytime I've seen him play.
Thanks for the insight for him, you definitely know more about the Q than I can ever know.
Watched his shift by shift video.
Seems solid.
Skating ability seems to be too highly praised for me. Not overly smooth and a little clumsy in his east-west mobility at times. Like his aggressiveness and his ability to get up and move the puck when necessary. Has some warts but has the size and tools to be a very solid middle pairing guy if he develops very well.
I did watch the shift by shift as well, off topic...this dude kept screaming at 9:50 mark repeatedly, weird.
You can tell why he was more of a 2nd rounder than a 1st.
He looked solid, but I definitely agree with your assessment concerning skating. His north to south isn't that bad, fairly mobile and able to reach his top end speed faster than someone like Geertsen. But, his transition game, especially turning from backwards to forwards is definitely below average. Wood got smoked at training camp and I expect the same thing to happen to Meloche, though he never was supposed to play in NHL next year.
His hockey IQ is still very good after watching the video, he knows what to do in every situation. Offensively he was extremely good, you can also tell how he was close to PPG as a defenseman. He sees the open ice, has very silk hands, and good body frame pushing other players out of the way. I do not see the shot though, looked pretty weak to me.
One part, which goes back to my inconsistencies, is his decision making defensively. Sometimes he looks so calm with the puck and uses his hands, body frame, and smarts to get past opposing forecheckers. Other times, he makes brutal decision like throwing the puck blindly up the boards, or leaving his man open in front of the net (which resulted in a goal). His play needs to be more edgier when tying up players in this area.
I don't really see Derek Morris in his game, he is way more flashy and has better offensive skills than Morris IMO. Hard to say who he personally reminds me of, I saw a TON of Erik Johnson qualities to his game, but I wouldn't say he is built as a tank like EJ. Probably reminds me a lot of Seabrook, has those skills, but the physical immaturity and inconsistencies to his game currently.
Has the talent and IQ, needs to season his tools more for his toolbox IMO.
