At some point, Joe Veleno was considered the “next”, with a big P Other than that. The only player to have obtained the status of an exceptional player in the LHJHL, however, he did not become the big NHL star that some were considering. In Montreal, however, the conditions will be met so that he can hatch, believes his former junior coach, Dominique Ducharme.
Be careful before taking you away, we are not talking here of hatching like a large offensive star in the NHL but, rather, to establish himself as a regular and useful player in a team from the Bettman circuit.
Ducharme has known Montrealer well. He acquired it in December 2017, while he was head coach and managing director of Drummondville Voltigeurs. In exchange, he had sent to the Sea Dogs de Saint-Jean three first round choices and two second.
From offensive player to depth attacker
Veleno was then in his year of draft in the NHL and he had concluded the season on the right foot by scoring 48 points in 33 games in Drummondville, before being claimed in the first round by the Red Wings of Detroit, 30e in total.
The following season, he had chained with 104 points, leading the voltigeurs until the third round of the series, bowing however against the hosts of the Memorial Cup, the Halifax Mooseheads.
Archives photo, QMI agency
A attacking player in the junior, Veleno was unable to produce at the same rate among professionals. In Montreal, it is expected to come and fill a depth role in the center, on a third or fourth trio.
“When you arrive in the NHL, create offensive, it’s difficult. It is the best league in the world and you face the best defenders and the best skaters each evening. The time and space you have is not the same. Joe still had a good time. He is still a young player and I think that [d’aller à Montréal]this is a good opportunity for him, “said the former Canadian head coach, on the sidelines of the golf tournament which he organizes annually at the Joliette golf club and which aims to raise profits for the foundation bearing his name.
Photo Kevin Dubá
Too many expectations and pressure?
As mentioned above, expectations were extremely high towards the attacker when he landed in the LHJHL at 15, finishing with a respectable 43 points in 62 games.
When he acquired it, when he was 17 years old, Ducharme assures that he did not feel a young man who was suffocating under pressure or the expectations placed in him.
“When he left Saint-Jean and arrived in Drummondville, it was a big change for him, but above all a new start. It was excited to have this chance of playing with us with our recovery year, which is still a year in which players have more pressure. ”
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