I think he still has 25-35-60 upside.
But I saw a lot of things over the last 15 months that were concerning after a great D+1 year.
1) After a terrific D+1 season, his playoff scoring vanished in his final round.
2) In the 3 on 3 tournament in Detroit, was lazy defensively.
3) In the prospect tournament, he scored a lot. But I couldn't believe how bad some of his reads were. His defense was brutal.
4) In his D+1 year, he was surprising in Detroit's exhibition season. He played a simple, fast game, getting the blueline with possession and then allowing his team to set up. In his D+2 exhibition season, he was one of Detroit's worse players. Terrible CF. 3 goals against.
5) He was -25 in GR. i didn't watch much GR hockey, so I can't say much about it. but he was -7 worse than the second worst guy.
Now, you can break his season in half if you want
First 26: 3-6-9 -19
vs
Final 28: 8-6-14 -6
Obviously, that looks like progress.
I guess if he plays next year in the AHL, I'd like to see
First 28; 8-6-14 -6
vs
Final 28: 14-14-28 +6
Can't expect linear development. And it's way too early to throw in any towels on Veleno.
But without a doubt, over the last 15 months, I've lowered my expectations.
This was a guy I had ranked as our best prospect a year ago.
So that's on me, I guess.