Draft Profile – Joe Veleno

Joe Veleno

Center/Left Wing

Drummondville Voltigeurs/Saint John Sea Dogs (QMJHL)

Size: 6’1” (185 cm) and 194 lbs (88 kg)

In all the years of the Canadian junior system, only five players have ever been granted “exceptional” status by Hockey Canada: Connor McDavid, Aaron Ekblad, John Tavares, Sean Day, and Joe Veleno. Now, outside of Day who has experienced some personal tragedy and struggled with weight issues, there’s a very common trend among the others. Connor McDavid is widely considered the best player in the world today, Aaron Ekblad is a Calder winning defenseman that’s in his 4th year keeping the Panthers afloat, and John Tavares who is almost single handedly keeping the Islanders in New York. We’re talking about some of the best players in the league, 3 of whom are former number 1 selections. I have a feeling Hockey Canada didn’t get this guy wrong.

Now I will admit, he’s had his share of inconsistency, particularly with Saint John this season. He should have more points, plain and simple, but you have to consider both his poor team performance and his low danger shots. He often took a lot of bad shots because it was the only option he had. Now that he’s been traded to Drummondville, his performance has skyrocketed. I’d still like to see more goals from him, but he’s been a phenomenal two-way forward with by far the best vision I’ve seen in a forward coming in a draft since his exceptional counterparts in McDavid and Tavares. He’s spectacular on the powerplay, utilizing his incredible hands and a good shot to facilitate a dangerous attack. He often tries, by his own admission, to draw everyone on the ice to him so he can distribute. I really like seeing his maturity and natural leadership on display at a young age, having captained the Sea Dogs before his trade. I’ll be the first to admit that his skating has impressed me, his edges are great and his speed is much better than I ever expected. Perhaps he could play a little more physically, but his game adds to his longevity, so I’ll gladly take it. He’s an aggressive forechecker and his positioning also lends itself to increasing turnovers along with his long reach.

He certainly seems NHL ready, almost definitely offensively. If he gets a chance on the wing for whatever team is lucky enough to select him, he should be in the NHL this fall. If he can get time to round out his game and transition, he’s going to do very well. I see a lot of promise in him, likely a steal between picks 7-12. If he had a better start to the season, there’s no doubt in my mind that he’s a top 5 or perhaps top 3 selection. I think he’ll end up in either Montreal, one of the New York teams, or Carolina personally. He can lead any of those teams through a rebuild and into becoming contenders.

Likely draft position: 7-12

Best fits in the NHL: Montreal, New York Rangers, New York Islanders, Dallas

Player comparison(s): Sidney Crosby, Pavel Datsyuk