Former NHLers grandson dominating the competition in France.

From 1970 to 1988, goaltender Gilles Meloche racked up a total of 788 games in the National Hockey League while wearing the colors of the Chicago Blackhawks, the California Golden Seals, the Cleveland Barons, the Minnesota North Stars and the Pittsburgh Penguins. Fans of the Penguins will likely remember him best, given that he also served as their goalie coach after retiring as a player up until 2013.

It was a great career at a time when being an NHL goaltender wasn't a job many were envious of.

Although the Montreal native can be proud of everything he accomplished in the NHL, he may have an even bigger reason to smile right now.

That's because, unbeknownst to most, Meloche's grandson, Mathis Dufour, is currently making quite the name for himself while playing hockey in France, completely dominating the Under 17 competition while playing for Grenoble. Looking at the stats alone, it is practically mind blowing when you consider that Dufour has recorded 32 goals and added 41 assists for a total of 73 points in just 18 games. Yes, you read that right. Over the course of 18 games Dufour is averaging a ridiculous 4.06 points per game.

In spite of the fact that he has only just turned 16 years of age, Dufour has impressed so much with his play that he received the call up to join the Under 20 team, where he continues to impress. Over the course of just 14 games with that group, the youngster has 11 goals and 7 assists for a total of 18 points.

Given that we don't see a ton of players coming out of the French league it's important to contextualize these numbers though. Perhaps the closest comparable would be 23 year old French NHL player Alexandre Texier. Dufour is producing at a higher pace than Texier was at the same age in France, which eventually resulted in Texier being selected by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2nd round (45th overall) of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.

This year Dufour also became the youngest player to ever be selected by France to represent them at the Under 18 world championship, no small accomplishment.

It seems that the youngster even has hockey in his blood given his aforementioned grandfather, but also given some of his other familial history as well. His father, Jean-Francois Dufour, played hockey at Ohio State University and played alongside some notable NHLers like RJ Umberger and Dave Steckel.

Even his uncle, Eric Meloche, had a lengthy professional hockey career, even making 74 NHL appearances split between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers in the early 2000s.

There's no question that the young man has now put himself on the map, the next question is will we soon see him repeat that level of dominance in North America? Could we soon see Dufour playing in the QMJHL or even the USHL? Stay tuned!