Seattle Kraken forward Jacob Melanson is out indefinitely after an unusual injury suffered in the team’s season opener against the Calgary Flames on Oct. 1.
The Kraken said Saturday that the 23-year-old’s upper-body injury was later “diagnosed as an anterior mediastinum hematoma with vascular pseudo aneurysm,” according to an official team release. Melanson was hurt against Calgary and was evaluated by medical staff in Alberta before that diagnosis was made.
He logged 9:31 of ice time in the game, finishing with one shot on goal and two penalty minutes. Melanson left midway through the third period.
“Given his unique injury, Jacob will continue to be evaluated and monitored closely by the medical staff in Seattle through the healing process for a gradual progression to return to hockey,” the Kraken said in their statement.
Melanson was selected by Seattle in the fifth round, No. 131 overall, of the 2021 NHL Draft, the franchise’s first as an NHL club. Before turning pro, he played junior hockey with the QMJHL’s Quebec Remparts, Acadie-Bathurst Titan, and Sherbrooke Phoenix, then joined the AHL’s Coachella Valley Firebirds in 2023.
He made his NHL debut with the Kraken in the 2024-25 regular season and split the next season nearly evenly between Seattle and Coachella Valley. In 2025-26, he scored his first two NHL goals and finished with five points in 36 games for Seattle.
A Halifax native, Melanson has played 132 AHL games across parts of three seasons with Coachella Valley, producing 23 goals and 50 points. He has also added four goals and 14 points in 36 Calder Cup Playoff games, and in 38 games with Seattle he has five points.
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