As classes start on Huntington Avenue this week, Northeastern Men’s Hockey continued to make moves on the recruiting trail as they secured their future in net, landing a commitment from goaltender Samuel Meloche. Meloche is an ’07 birth year currently playing for the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies of the QMJHL. He was selected in the 4th round of the 2025 NHL Draft by the Buffalo Sabres.
Meloche is a 6-foot-2, 190 pound goaltender who catches the traditional left-handed way. He hails from Les Cèdres, Quebec. He is about to embark on his second full season with Rouyn-Noranda, after playing in 51 games last year, the second-most of any rookie goaltender in the QMJHL. He put up a .900 save percentage and 2.90 goals-against-average, as well as 5 shutouts which led the QMJHL. He backed the Huskies to 30 victories and finished 7th in the Q in saves with 1289. He played another 13 games in the playoffs, improving his play to the tune of a .911 SV%, 2.06 GAA line. Prior to the QMJHL he played for the Châteaguay Grenadiers and the Lac St-Lions youth programs, the same Lac St-Lions program that produced Northeastern goaltending great Devon Levi.
Meloche is a highly-regarded goaltending prospect, rated 4.25 stars by Neutral Zone scouting. Neutral Zone characterizes him as an “technically sound, athletic goaltender who “regularly absorbs difficult chances and maintains composure through traffic and high-stress sequences.” NZ further elaborates on his game, stating “his movement is clean in the crease, with good east-west coverage and controlled pad recovery mechanics. He tracks the puck well through screens and consistently squares up to the initial shot. His ability to maintain net coverage while staying low gives him a solid base to limit rebound chaos. Meloche has also shown the mental resilience to bounce back from soft goals or poor sequences, which is a necessary trait in long-term development. He’s not afraid to handle the puck outside his crease and looks to initiate transition when controlled, which is becoming increasingly valuable in modern pro systems.” They cite his blocker-side and decision making when handling the puck as areas he can improve on. Per NZ, he saved 3.1 goals-above-expected per game last season and had a .840 save percentage in high danger scoring area chances, both excellent figures.
Elite Prospects had Meloche ranked as a goalie likely to be drafted in 2025, and their scouting report included ”[an] ability to stay composed, even when things broke down in front of him rather frequently… his play reading and composure pair well with his athleticism. He’s able to make up for rare mistakes in save selection with quick, explosive reflexes…one of the better puckhandling goalies in this draft.”
Longtime prospect evaluator Chris Peters of FloHockey went on the 2Goalies1Mic podcast to discuss the entirety of the 2025 Sabres draft class, and had this to say about Meloche: “.900 save percentage in the Q in his first full season of junior hockey, that’s not nothing…I liked [the pick]. He’s a 6-foot-2 goalie that played 50+ games this year in the Q, will probably play 50+ more next year, coming through the ranks was a top guy in his age group in terms of getting opportunities. He’s also fairly young as a July birthdate…I think because of how well he performed as a first-year QMJHL player this year, that was a pick that was interesting, let’s see where it goes.”
Like many Canadian goaltenders in the last decade-plus, Meloche fell in love with the position watching former Montreal goalie Carey Price. In an interview he did with Buffalo Hockey Beat, Meloche talks about watching Price from the Bell Centre and setting himself on this path eight years ago: “I just fell in love with his game,” the Buffalo Sabres prospect told the Times Herald. “I wanted to just become a goalie.” In the article, Meloche’s goalie coach in Rouyn-Noranda, Dany Sabourin, added “If I would say one goalie that I can compare, that would be Carey Price, how calm he is…he’s a very athletic goalie, can go outside of his technical systems when he has to, he makes saves look very easy sometimes because he’s very smooth.” Seamus Kotyk, Buffalo’s goalie development coach, quantified Meloche’s mobility, size, and the increased workload he handled in his first QMJHL season as factors that led to the Sabres selecting him.
Meloche projects as a high-end college goaltender and looks to be the next in a long line of excellent goaltenders for Northeastern. He is projected to arrive in Fall 2027 at the conclusion of his QMJHL career, which also would line up with the year after current projected starting goaltender Lawton Zacher graduates, creating a likely opening between the pipes for Meloche to take advantage of as he moves from one team of Huskies to another. We look forward to watching his continued development with Rouyn-Noranda this season.
Congratulations to Samuel on his commitment to Northeastern!
As always, go Huskies!