Red Wings prospect and 2022 draft pick Owen Melenbacher spoke with his hometown newspaper, The Post of Fort Erie, Ontario, about his selection by the Red Wings and his decision to remain with the USHL’s Muskegon Lumberjacks for one more season before heading to the University of Wisconsin:
He is coming off a season where he tallied 42 points on 17 goals and 25 assists in for the Lumberjacks as a second-line centre.
“The extra year will help,” he said. “It’s about development.”
Melenbacher chose to go the collegiate route rather than play in the OHL when he was just 15. After a year with the Buffalo Jr. Sabres of the Greater Horseshoe junior-B Hockey League, he was tendered by the Lumberjacks. A full-ride scholarship to Wisconsin soon followed. While he attended the Red Wings’ prospect development camp, he will not be a part of the NHL’s club’s training camp for the upcoming season.
“I’m only allowed to go to the prospects development camp. If I went to training camp, it would hinder my college eligibility.”
On the ice, Melenbacher describes himself as two-way player who plays both ends of the ice.
“I’m a 200-foot power forward with size and strength. I have pretty good skills for a big guy.”
