KIRKLAND PHENOM
Memorial Cup run for Veleno
For Kirkland’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 last Wednesday night, Veleno helped the Saint John Sea Dogs beat the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada 5-1 to sweep the bestof-seven President Cup final. Veleno didn’t score 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 on Tuesday from Saint John. “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 on Friday night against the host Spitfires and Canadiens defence prospect Mikhail Sergachev (7 p.m., SN, TVA Sports 2). While Sergachev was selected by the Canadiens in the first round (ninth overall) of last year’s NHL Draft, Veleno won’t even be eligible for the draft until next year.
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 majorjunior league as a 15-year-old. The centre became only the fifth player in Canadian Hockey League history allowed to join a year early, following John Tavares of the New York Islanders (Oshawa Generals), Aaron Ekblad of the Florida Panthers (Barrie Colts), Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers (Erie Otters) and Sean Day, who now plays for the Spitfires after starting his junior career with the Mississauga Steelheads. Day, the only defenceman in the group, was selected by the New York Rangers in the third round (81st overall) 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 that 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.”
Goyens took advantage of Veleno’s versatility, playing him on the power play, the penalty kill, at wing and at centre.
“The best really do want to be coached … they really do want that honest feedback,” Goyens said about Veleno, who is 6-foot2 and 190 pounds. “That’s usually what separates some of the elite of the elite.”
Veleno said he thinks the best part about his game is his vision and an ability to make his teammates better.
“I like moving my feet, getting open and trying to attract players to me so I can move the puck to my linemates,” he said. “I think that makes my game really strong.”
While Veleno grew up on the West Island of Montreal he wasn’t a Habs fan, instead cheering for the Washington Capitals and his favourite player, Alex Ovechkin. Veleno remembers getting an Ovechkin jersey for Christmas when he was about 8 and his parents would take him to see the Caps play at the Bell Centre when they faced the Canadiens.
“I think when you’re a kid, you kind of only look at who scores the most goals,” Veleno said. “That’s all you really see. You don’t focus on the two-way play and the little things that happen. You just focus on the goals, and to me, Ovechkin was the one who stood out on the ice.”
But there’s more to being a complete hockey player than just scoring goals.
That’s something Veleno learned early and it’s been paying off nicely for him.
The best really do want to be coached … they really do want that honest feedback.