Meet Melo: Chatting with Comets’ Forward, Matyas Melovsky
Apr 9, 2026Utica, NY – Earlier this week, we spoke with Comets’ rookie centerman, Matyas Melovsky.
Melovsky grew up in the small town of Unicov, Czechia, with a population of just 11,000 inhabitants and located about 90 minutes from fellow teammate and Comets’ netminder Jakub Malek’s hometown of Kromeriz. He started skating at the age of three and took an immediate liking to hockey. He was drawn to the game primarily thanks to his father who played as a kid and went on to become a coach. Melovsky has two older sisters, but he and his dad are the sole hockey players in the family.
The two main sports in Unicov have for long been soccer and hockey. Matyas and many of his friends played both, but he ultimately chose to focus on the latter. He didn’t start following the NHL until he got older but was familiar with many of the big names. He recalls playing ball hockey with his friends where they would pretend to be superstars like Patrick Kane or Dominic Hasek. Matyas revealed that his favorite player of all time is former Boston Bruins’ centerman and fellow Czechia native, David Krejci. More recently, being in the Devils’ system, he has studied and emulated the play of guys like Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes.
Melovsky played for the HC Vitkovice program in Czechia from the 2017-18 season through the 2021-22 season. After the U18 World Junior Championship, he shipped off to Quebec to play for Baie-Comeau Drakkar of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). While he enjoyed his experience of playing in his home country, he said the level of hockey was nowhere near that of the QMJHL or the other two major junior leagues, the Ontario Hockey League and Western Hockey League.
The move to Canada was not Melovsky’s first trip overseas. When he was 13, he attended the world-renowned Quebec International Peewee Hockey Tournament in Quebec City. At the time, he had never played in an arena of that size or in front of a crowd of several thousand people which made it a special experience. He participated in the tournament again the following year and played against current-teammate and Quebec native, Mikael Diotte.
Melovsky played a total of three seasons for Baie-Comeau Drakkar. While he was far apart from his family, that was overshadowed by his enjoyment of the organization and the success he had playing there. He had a great relationship with his coach who entrusted Matyas with a big role and abundant playing time right away. In his first season, he recorded 52 assists, the most among all rookies in the QMJHL. Last year, in his third and final season (2024-25), he was awarded the Guy Carbonneau Trophy as the league’s Best Defensive Forward. “Being able to think fast helps a lot when it comes to the defensive part of the game. Defense is a lot about effort in the first place. If you give it 100%, you will be a good defender”, Matyas commented when asked about his defensive-minded style.
He stated that one of the challenges of moving to Quebec was the language barrier. While Matyas started learning English in first grade, French was not so familiar. He said he was fortunate to live with a great billet family who spoke English in what was a French-dominated city and region.
Melovsky had a somewhat unique experience when he was drafted ahead of his last season in the QMJHL. He was selected in the sixth round in the 2024 NHL Draft by the New Jersey Devils but was not there in person as he admitted that he wasn’t positive whether he would even be drafted or not. He enjoyed the experience, however, of getting to stay in Czechia with his family and witnessing the moment on TV when his name was called.
Melovsky has enjoyed Utica and joked about it feeling like a large city compared to his small hometown of Unicov. He said his first year of pro hockey has been a good experience overall, aside from battling an injury that sidelined him for two months during the middle part of the season, but injuries are part of the game, he acknowledged. Having developed a great friendship with fellow Czechia native Jakub Malek has made the experience even more special.
In early March of 2026, Melovsky signed a two-year, entry-level contract with the Devils. “It was unreal. It was something I always dreamed of as a kid. I know the NHL is still far away and that I need to work to make it there, but it’s a great sign that I’m doing the right stuff and improving”, Melovsky said when reflecting on signing his first NHL contract.
In his spare time, Matyas says that he has become quite proficient at the video game Geometry Dash on both mobile and PC and welcomes all challengers. This summer, he is excited for a trip to Italy that he and his friends planned several months ago and looks forward to reuniting with his family in Czechia, especially his two young nieces who miss him dearly and call him several times a week.
Melovsky and the Comets are back home tomorrow night at 7 PM for the Local Police Officer Game as they play host to the Toronto Marlies. For tickets, please visit uticacomets.com/tickets or call 315-790-9070.