Does the Prowler's spinning boomerang attack use ranged attack values?

The Prowler has an attack that is, in my opinion, not entirely clear on whether it counts as a melee or ranged attack.

After throwing two boomerangs, pressing A again will cause the Prowler to rush forward while holding a boomerang in its paw and spinning, dealing several hits. Is the damage for this attack calculated using the weapon's melee attack value or ranged attack value?