Things you can count on: death, taxes, and Delbarton LSMs laying claim to being among the best in the class. To say that Melchionni has done that would be quite the understatement, and he put together another brilliant campaign during his time on Long Island. As always, he was a bona fide vacuum on the wings of face-offs, helping Leading Edge’s 1-2 punch when Chakabva and Hernando weren’t winning it themselves. Overall, he’s at his very best when the lights are the brightest, which is one of the best things you can say about a player. In a dramatic comeback win over Madlax on Day 1, he picked up a massive sideline GB and had the hockey assist for Patrick Smith’s OT game-winner, and was stellar all game long leading up to that moment. One of the qualities that helps push him over the lion’s share of his peers at a positional group that is better than it’s been in years is his IQ both with and without the ball in his stick. His decision-making leaves nothing to be desired. Of course, he possesses so many of the same attributes that made his brother Jake one of the best players in the ’23 class (and a Third Team All-American at Villanova this spring). While he isn’t as big, his upside might be even bigger. Max’s motor is like that of an Energizer bunny, as he’s every bit of a sideline-to-sideline, endline-to-endline player who is constantly providing a spark in just about every facet of the game.

Melchionni stood out as a wing player on face-offs with his quickness to get to the X and then his knack for finding the ball out of the scrums. He does a good job of communicating with his FOGO to be an outlet between the legs if needed and when in a defensive set. He shows good speed at the LSM position and has the ability to match speed with his opponent when being dodged on and the strength to lay hard checks to the gloves and times his checks well to dislodge the ball. Another outstanding quality that the Bernardsville (N.J.) native shows is his effort and hustle to the end lines to run out shots and fight for possessions in the ground ball battles which cannot be taught.

The younger brother of former New Balance Senior Game MVP and current Villanova All-American LSM Jake Melchionni, Max shows plenty of big bro’s influence in his game, which is quite unfortunate for anyone on Leading Edge’s schedule. Simply put, he’s a menace all over the field. Fleet of foot and blessed with elite hands, Melchionni made a living out of putting the ball on the ground in spectacular fashion, cleanly corralling the ball off the turf on the first try, and sparking plays off the wing and transition that changed the course of every game. His reel from the weekend was a thing of beauty, and I’d imagine we’ll be hearing a lot from Melchionni over the next few years.