Texas Returns Josh Melnick on AHL Deal

(Credit: Andy Nietupski/Texas Stars)

The Texas Stars have added another player to their forward corps, re-signing Josh Melnick on an AHL deal for the coming year. He is coming off a career year in his second pro season. Melnick was signed by Dallas to a one-year ELC coming out of college and converted to an AHL deal last year.

Despite coming into just his third year in the league, Melnick is 26 and served as an alternate captain for the Stars last season. With both Cole Schneider and Nick Baptiste departed for other clubs, Melnick is the only remaining member of the 2021 leadership group. Of course, the team has plenty of veterans to build around this season.

Here's the release: 

The Texas Stars, American Hockey League affiliate of the NHL’s Dallas Stars, announced Wednesday that center Josh Melnick has signed an AHL contract with the team for the 2021-22 season.

Melnick, 26, is coming off his best pro season where he registered 22 points (9-13=22) and was one of only two Stars players to skate in all 38 games in 2020-21. While serving as an alternate captain, he led all Stars forwards with a plus-3 rating and recorded just four PIMS. Melnick is entering his third pro season having played the previous two campaigns with the Stars and posting 41 points (14-27=41) and a plus-18 rating in 104 games.

Prior to turning pro, the 5-foot-10, 175-pound native of Annandale, New Jersey played for seasons at Miami University. The former RedHawks captain logged 107 points (38-69=107) across 140 NCAA games from 2015 to 2019 and paced his alma mater with 26 points (10-16=26) in his senior campaign.