News Article: Joe Veleno

[Hen Kolland]

Who is standing at the door to re-direct Dotter and Hinterland?

The Athletic email team

 

[RedWingzz]

Just picked up my tickets for Tuesday and Wednesday, Drummondville are in Gatineau for games 3 and 4. I'm so pumped, this will be my first chance to watch Veleno live. Part of me is hoping this series goes 6 so I get to watch him for a 3rd time, but part of me wants to see a Drummondville sweep.

Would it be dumb if I wear my Wings jersey to this to support Veleno? I have no ties to Gatineau, my favourite major junior team is the 67s.

 

[Dwight Schrute]

He had 22 last year, but the overall numbers still support your point.

Since joining the Q, he averaged:
0.21 Goals/Game
0.29 Goals/Game
0.34 Goals/Game
0.71 Goals/Game

Last year he split about evenly between Saint John and Drummondville and he was at 0.19 Goals/Game and 0.48 Goals/Game respectively, so there is definitely something to be attributed to his change of scenery (read: playing on a better team gives him more opportunity). Playing around a better supporting cast probably opens up the ice for him quite a bit, but the Athletic article above mentions also how much he has taken to the training and coaching that the Wings have pushed on him. I'm sure he is physically stronger, faster, and more aware of the things going on around him and how to be more of a lethal offensive threat thanks to the work with Detroit, and confidence is a hell of a performance enhancer.

It's certainly not out of the realm of possibility that this aspect of his game has always been present considering his pedigree, but this discussion is the best kind. "Why did this player become a high level talent?" is certainly more enjoyable than the alternative.

With regards to his low goals/game stat, we should take into consideration that he was only 15 and 16 years old respectively in those two seasons. Last season, his draft year he started out on a very young, weak Sea Dogs team before being traded to a much stronger Drummondville team. I believe he has scoring ability it's just taken him a bit longer to show it off in junior.

 

[Unfriendly Ghost]

With regards to his low goals/game stat, we should take into consideration that he was only 15 and 16 years old respectively in those two seasons. Last season, his draft year he started out on a very young, weak Sea Dogs team before being traded to a much stronger Drummondville team. I believe he has scoring ability it's just taken him a bit longer to show it off in junior.

Yup. People make a big deal about how good Drummondville is, but seem to forget how brutal Saint John was. They were last place... by a lot, and scored the fewest goals by a healthy margin. He was basically all they had, sort of like Krebs this year.

 

[TCNorthstars]

Would it be dumb if I wear my Wings jersey to this to support Veleno? I have no ties to Gatineau, my favourite major junior team is the 67s.

Who cares if other people think you look dumb? Wear that Wings jersey with pride and anybody that has a problem with that can GTFO!

 

[RedWingzz]

Who cares if other people think you look dumb? Wear that Wings jersey with pride and anybody that has a problem with that can GTFO!

Haha yeah I know. Personally I just don't like when people wear jerseys of teams who aren't playing. Like wearing a Dallas Stars jersey to a Montreal vs Pittsburgh game is dumb. I guess this makes sense because there is a Wings connection here though.

 

[TCNorthstars]

Haha yeah I know. Personally I just don't like when people wear jerseys of teams who aren't playing. Like wearing a Dallas Stars jersey to a Montreal vs Pittsburgh game is dumb. I guess this makes sense because there is a Wings connection here though.

Yes, yes there is a Wing connection. Although, what other people wear to a hockey game has zero impact on my life so I don't care what they wear as long as it isn't vulgar. I've never understood why anybody would care what others wear or chide them for it. But I digress...let us know how the game went!

 

[lhsgolf19]

Veleno off and running... 2 Goals in the 1st... Up 3-0 right now

 

[lhsgolf19]

There's the Hattie... 4-0 with 5 to go in the 2nd

 

[Hockey Know it all]

There's the Hattie... 4-0 with 5

With the way Velenos playing, he SHOULD be with the wings this upcoming season.

 

[lhsgolf19]

Drummondville won 4-0... He finished with 3 Goals (2 PP, including the GWG)

 

[RedWingzz]

Drummondville won 4-0... He finished with 3 Goals (2 PP, including the GWG)

I feel a Rasmussen type of run coming up here from Veleno in these playoffs. Rasmussen last year was just dumb, seemed like he got 3 or 4 points every game.

 

[avssuc]

The Athletic email team

I think he's ready...

 

[DetroitRed]

I went through QMJHL stats for the last decade and looked at guys at or near the top of the league in points for each season, just to try to get a sense of the significance of Veleno's Q-league numbers in terms of what he might be at the NHL level. These are some of the names:

A couple of players at or near the top of QMJHL in points in previous seasons, of course, we're pretty familiar with in Detroit: Zadina and Mantha.

Some other names I remember are Ehlers, Drouin, Palat, and Marchessault.

 

[Oddbob]

Nice to see the hatty in game one!!!

 

[jkutswings]

While they're no guarantee about how well it translates at the AHL (and then NHL) level, I'm happy to be so wrong about Veleno's offensive potential thus far.

Keep the magic going, kid.

 

[Gniwder]

While they're no guarantee about how well it translates at the AHL (and then NHL) level, I'm happy to be so wrong about Veleno's offensive potential thus far.

Keep the magic going, kid.

Watching some highlights, it looks like he's got very good positional awareness and a quick release. His game should translate well to the AHL, but I think he's gonna need to get a little more puck velocity to beat NHL goalies. I don't see him making the jump to the NHL right away, but I also don't see him staying in the AHL for too long... maybe a season or two just because he's young.

Those junior level d-men leave so much time and space it's hard to judge whether he'll be able to create space at higher levels. To be honest, I don't watch a whole lot of juniors.

 

[NickH8]

Watching some highlights, it looks like he's got very good positional awareness and a quick release. His game should translate well to the AHL, but I think he's gonna need to get a little more puck velocity to beat NHL goalies. I don't see him making the jump to the NHL right away, but I also don't see him staying in the AHL for too long... maybe a season or two just because he's young.

Those junior level d-men leave so much time and space it's hard to judge whether he'll be able to create space at higher levels. To be honest, I don't watch a whole lot of juniors.

People really underestimate the CHL to NHL and even AHL jump. Rasmussen has gotten a few points but he doesn't create squat and clearly should be in the AHL. Veleno would look the same if he played next year. Guys need time.

 

[NickH8]

People really underestimate the CHL to NHL and even AHL jump. Rasmussen has gotten a few points but he doesn't create squat and clearly should be in the AHL. Veleno would look the same if he played next year. Guys need time.

Unless they're a super skilled guy like Marner.

 

[Gniwder]

People really underestimate the CHL to NHL and even AHL jump. Rasmussen has gotten a few points but he doesn't create squat and clearly should be in the AHL. Veleno would look the same if he played next year. Guys need time.

Isn't that what I said? Needs a year or two. The hockey IQ is there though, and I think his game translates better than Ras' either way.

Ras scored goals in juniors because he's a big kid. Doesn't work when you're not stronger than your opponents in the NHL. He needs to bulk up, we all know he isn't strong enough on his skates. He's definitely got an NHL career though, probably a year or two in the AHL would do him some good too. I'd rather see him on the ice than Abby though. If I had a choice, I'd send Abby down first.

 

[NickH8]

Isn't that what I said? Needs a year or two. The hockey IQ is there though, and I think his game translates better than Ras' either way.

Ras scored goals in juniors because he's a big kid. Doesn't work when you're not stronger than your opponents in the NHL. He needs to bulk up, we all know he isn't strong enough on his skates. He's definitely got an NHL career though, probably a year or two in the AHL would do him some good too. I'd rather see him on the ice than Abby though. If I had a choice, I'd send Abby down first.

I'm agreeing with you.

 

[jkutswings]

But the biggest difference for me is seeing all these prospects have normal bumps in the road, and sometimes even setbacks, but still feel confident that they'll develop into good NHL players. For all the grief I've given Detroit on their draft strategy, I never felt this way about nearly as many of the kids taken 5-10 years ago. So kudos to the staff for that.

 

[Hen Kolland]

People really underestimate the CHL to NHL and even AHL jump. Rasmussen has gotten a few points but he doesn't create squat and clearly should be in the AHL. Veleno would look the same if he played next year. Guys need time.

The thing about Veleno is his methods of creating is a lot different than that of Rasmussen. I could see Veleno producing more than Rasmussen right now, but it still wouldn't be a tremendous amount. Rasmussen skates okay for his size (still needs to be better), but he isn't out-skating anyone, and his strength isn't nearly high enough to play at a tempo average or below average of the NHL. Rasmussen's style of play should be heavy around the crease, below the goal line, being a dog on the puck. Realistically Rasmussen should be on the puck like Getzlaf, but he's 19 and probably 25 pounds of primarily muscle undersized right now. We shouldn't be surprised by Rasmussen's struggles this year and I don't think any of us are; power forwards don't burst on the scene at 19-20 years old. He is a prime example of being screwed by the NHL-CHL arrangement.

On the other hand, Veleno relies heavily on plus skating; the explosiveness in straight ahead speed, plus his edge work should allow him more breathing room than Rasmussen will ever get. I think Veleno is an above average skater at the NHL level if he drops in tonight. If given a rigorous training program this year to increase his strength, I think he's physically more NHL ready than he's given credit for. The thing that remains to be seen out of Veleno is: can he mentally play at the pace of the NHL. It's one thing to skate yourself into a split second of breathing room, it's completely different to make a decision and execute it in the split second you earned yourself. I think a good example of that can still be seen in Athanasiou, although he is getting much better at it. When Athanasiou looks absolutely brilliant playing at a high speed, it's when the decision is made easy on him. Someone flips a puck to center ice on a breakout and Athanasiou has taken off after it and gets a breakaway, there's no decision to be made, try to score with the puck on your stick. On the other side, watch the powerplay where AA takes the drop pass and comes flying up trying to execute a zone entry. Does he pass it? To who? Should he hold it and try maneuver around the defenders? Should he chip it deep and go after it? In those moments it feels like he is moving faster than has head has time to make decisions. That's what I think Veleno needs to work on most in Grand Rapids. To be a successful playmaker, he needs to read plays at a much higher speed than what the Q challenges him with.

 

[Konnan511]

I'm very excited about Veleno, maybe moreso than most members on this forum, but Mantha had a better D+1 season and look at how much he gets crapped on.

 

[Ezekial]

I'm very excited about Veleno, maybe moreso than most members on this forum, but Mantha had a better D+1 season and look at how much he gets crapped on.

No one is sitting around crapping on Mantha for his junior production, they shit talk his effort.