Veleno living up to exceptional status

Kirkland, Que., phenom shows he can do it all as Saint John advances to Memorial Cup

For Kirkland, Que.’s Joe Veleno, it was as close to a real home game as he could get in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

With his parents, other family members and friends in the stands at the Centre d’Excellence Sports Rousseau in Boisbriand, Que., on May 10, Veleno helped the Saint John Sea Dogs beat the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada 5-1 to sweep the best-of-seven President Cup final. Veleno didn’t have any points in the Game 4 victory, but had eight goals and three assists in 18 playoff games.

“It was really special having family and friends there,” Veleno said Tuesday from Saint John, N.B. “I couldn’t have asked for a better spot to win it.”

With the victory, Veleno and the Sea Dogs advanced to the Memorial Cup in Windsor, Ont., with their first game Friday against the host Spitfires.

Veleno made headlines two years ago when he became the first player in QMJHL history to be granted exceptional status, allowing him to join the major junior league as a 15-year-old. The centre became only the fifth player to do so in Canadian Hockey League history as well, following the New York Islanders’ John Tavares (Oshawa Generals), Florida Panthers’ Aaron Ekblad (Barrie Colts), Edmonton Oilers’ Connor McDavid (Erie Otters) and Sean Day, who plays for the Spitfires after starting his junior career with the Mississauga Steelheads. Day was selected by the New York Rangers in the third round at last year’s NHL draft.

Veleno said leaving home at 15 was tough at first, especially since he’d never been to the Maritimes before. But Veleno, who doesn’t turn 18 until Jan. 13, added his teammates and the Sea Dogs staff did a great job of helping him settle into his new home, where he shares a billet family with captain Spencer Smallman. The Sea Dogs selected Veleno No. 1 overall at the 2015 QMJHL draft after acquiring the pick from the Drummondville Voltigeurs.

“It’s a small town and they really enjoy their hockey here and they really come support the Sea Dogs,” Veleno said.

Veleno was limited to 45 games during the regular season as a result of a lower-body injury suffered early in the year. He scored 13 goals and added 27 assists, but it’s not his point production that made Veleno stand out at a young age. He was also an underage player in triple-A midget, playing as a 14-year-old with the Lac St. Louis Lions and posting 52 points in 41 games before making the jump to the QMJHL.

“Guys who put up points typically at a younger age aren’t guys who take pride necessarily or play with the same tenacious approach without the puck,” said Jon Goyens, who coached Veleno with the Lions. “That’s kind of what Joey brought from a young age ... that he typically invested in every shift the same energy in both directions of the ice.”

That’s something Veleno learned early and it’s been paying off nicely for him.