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On Joe Veleno by Ryan Snow |
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Kent Hughes has continued his off season brilliance by signing centre Joe Veleno to a one year contract worth 900K. A former 30th overall pick in 2018 by the Red Wings, Veleno had great offensive numbers in the Q and has developed into a reliable two-way player in the NHL.
Looking at his NHL stats, some may view him as an offensive disappointment, but you need to remember he has been playing for teams struggling to get wins with Detroit and Chicago. The role he played on those teams was primarily a defensive one, and he had a lot of success shutting down opposing players.
What Veleno brings to the Habs is speed, size at 6’1 (which they need), tenacious defending and a sound hockey mind. He is rarely out of position and will force awkward zone exits for the opposing team by being in the right spot, not allowing an ideal first pass out of the zone. Also, he’s 25 and will be a good addition to the already young core of the Habs.
I know I’ve talked about this a lot, but again this is the type of player that fits perfectly into the Habs system of speed and aggressive forechecking. I have no doubt St-Louis will deploy him appropriately and use his strengths to get the most out of this player. I can envision a line of Bolduc-Newhook-Veleno to be a thorn in the side of a lot of teams with their speed, tenacity, defensive consciousness and offensive upside.
Another aspect I really like is that Veleno is a Quebec born player, born in Montreal. Hughes has done a great job acquiring players the fans will love to support (Blais, Bolduc, Veleno, Matheson, Carrier) and the players themselves will pride themselves in wearing the CH on the front of their sweater. Hughes just gets it, and he and St-Louis seem to be in sync with the type of player the team needs and exactly how they want to play. A great low risk, high reward signing.
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