Wednesday, April 28, 2021

Veleno makes NHL debut with Red Wings

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Joe Veleno became the latest Saint John Sea Dogs alumnus to appear in an NHL game on Tuesday.

Veleno played 14:59 in the Detroit Red Wings' 1-0 shootout loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Wearing No. 90, Veleno recorded two shots, one hit, two blocks, and one takeaway in the game. He also went 57% in faceoffs and saw 0:54 of time on the power play.
The Red Wings, who have had another rough season as their rebuild continues, play again on Thursday, visiting the Carolina Hurricanes.

Veleno, a first-round pick of the Red Wings in the 2018 NHL Draft, recently joined Detroit's taxi squad and was recalled earlier in the day.

The 21-year-old spent most of this season playing in Sweden with the Malmo Redhawks where he recorded 11 goals and nine assists in 46 games. He spent last season - his first as a pro - with the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins.

Veleno became the 11th former Sea Dog to appear in an NHL game this season. He also became the sixth member of Saint John's 2016-17 President Cup-winning squad to play an NHL game this year.

Former Sea Dogs to play in the NHL this season are: Veleno (Detroit Red Wings), Jonathan Huberdeau (Florida Panthers), Thomas Chabot (Ottawa Senators), Mike Hoffman (St. Louis Blues), Mathieu Joseph (Tampa Bay Lightning), Charlie Coyle (Boston Bruins), Julien Gauthier (New York Rangers), Jakub Zboril (Boston Bruins), Matthew Highmore (Chicago Blackhawks and Vancouver Canucks), Nathan Beaulieu (Winnipeg Jets) and Tomas Jurco (Vegas Golden Knights).

Boko Imama (Los Angeles Kings), Spencer Smallman (Carolina Hurricanes), Alex D'Orio (Pittsburgh Penguins) and Callum Booth (Boston Bruins) have all spent the majority of their seasons in the minors but have been placed on NHL taxi squads at times.

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