During the offseason, he had hopes of making the NHL ouf ot training camp. But with Covid-19 still causing concerns worldwide, the NHL season got postponed. That made Joe Veleno and the Detroit Red Wings look at options. That made Joe Veleno move. To Sweden and Malmö. Here's his story.
The Team
With everything going on in the world, Joe Veleno didn't know where or when his season was to start. He aimed for the NHL:
"In the beginning, there was a lot of unknowns with the NHL and AHL. Nobody knew when things were going to start up again and the Red Wings saw the need for their young players to kind of play some games and I felt so too. I thought it was a really good idea but at the start I wanted to wait and see how things were going to play out. I thought I got a lot better and stronger in the offseason. That was my main problem off the ice and I felt I did a good job there. My main goal was to go to camp and to make the team from there" he explains.
But things didn't go as planned. The Covid-19 pandemic prolonged the start of the hockey season in North America.
"When I started training and I heard things were gonna start up in January or February. So speaking with Detroit and Steve Yzerman we agreed I’d go over here to play games in Sweden and the connection between Niklas Kronwall and Malmö was there. That obviously helped a lot. And my agent put in a lot of work to kind of make sure everything came into place between Malmö, myself and Detroit. After that, I came over as soon as I could" Veleno explains.
How does the Malmö organization and the SHL compare to Grand Rapids of the AHL for instance?
"I’m really thrilled and impressed by the organization and the staff that are here. They’re treating me really well and that goes for the new guys that just joined as well. I think the facilities are among the best in the SHL. We got a really nice, big arena." he says enthusiastically. "There’s a good setup for the guys and we’re in a nice city, the third biggest in Sweden. So, there’s stuff to do in the city and we can walk around. The staff are treating us great and I’ve kind of grown on the city as well since I’ve been here. It’s kind of making me feel like home more and more every day. Comparing to the AHL, it’s pretty similar in a lot of different ways. But it’s more or less the same. I’ve been lucky to play with Grand Rapids, which is a really good AHL organization. I’m pretty lucky to get that kind of opportunity, to play here."
The Detroit Red Wings were early in their way of moving prospects abroad to have them play games and defenseman Moritz Seider ended up in Rögle, a fierce rival of the Malmö Redhawks.
Was there ever a chance of you and him playing together here in the SHL?
"I don’t think so. When I spoke to 'Mo', he was still with Adler Mannheim in the DEL and they were still waiting to play as well. The season was supposed to start December and that wasn’t looking to good so he said he was coming to the SHL when I told him I was going. I told him: 'Yeah, come to Malmö!' He said the team he was going was real good and close by but I kind of wanted him to come here, haha! But no, he didn’t hesitate coming here. We both just wanted to play. I didn’t know that much about Malmö, the team or anything. I just wanted to play and develop. "
The League
The SHL is a highly acclaimed league internationally and although Veleno admits he didn't know much about the league before coming here, he's adjusted to the style of play and out of his nine goals and five assists, five goals and one helper has come in his past eight games.
What sticks out to you in the SHL?
"I think playing here now, I realize how hard teams are in their structure and they take their defensive responsibilities. It’s tough to get the odd man rush, three-on-two or two-on-ones. It’s very rare you see that, and I’ve noticed a lot of teams are backchecking to the very end and that’s something I’ll take with me going back to North America, the relentlessness to backcheck and compete. I think that’s one thing we’ve harped on a lot. And that is obviously really important going back to those leagues where it’s hard to score goals. Now I can see why, in this league pretty much everyone is backchecking like a dog on a bone and that’s something I’ll take with me."
The Player
Born in Kirkland, Quebec, Veleno started skating at three.
"I started skating when I was about three but I started playing organized hockey when I was five or six years old. I also played soccer when I was really young. And I played both sports competitively." he says.
What was your position playing soccer?
He laughs.
"I played striker and midfielder."
I was going to say; there are a lot of similarities between a midfielder in soccer and a centerman in hockey. Did you play any other posistions in hockey?"
"No I’ve always played center. I played it right away."
Like anyone else growing up with hockey in North America, Joe Veleno is used to playing on the smaller rink. And in the beginning of the season, it showed a bit.
Please take this the right way, but you looked a bit lost during the start of the season. But now you seem to be more comfortable with the space out there.
"Yeah, it was a little different coming over to play the big rink. There was something to get adjusted to. You can’t play the same way as you do in North America. You have to adjust within the structure of how the team plays. It was tough for me. I was used to make the quick plays in the smaller areas and here there’s so much time and space. It’s like: 'Jeez, I don’t know what to do with the puck.' he laughs."
"But once I got used to the system and my linemates and as the team came together... Obviously we didn’t have a great start but once we found our way, it turned. Just before Christmas I probably started to get my feet wet. Ever since I think I’ve been doing pretty well and I’ve been a key player and that’s important. We need the key players to step up to drive the bus. We’re pushing for a spot in the playoffs and I think everyone’s pretty eager to win some games."
One last thing, has there been any stuff on the ice between you and Mo Seider? Anything that stands out? In the Czech League, your teammates Filip Zadina and Filip Hronek have had some great showings against each other."
"The only thing I can think of was the last game before Christmas break, I made the pass to Händemark on a breakaway and I think Mo was coming the other way. He was one of the two D’s that came at me on the check and that allowed me to get Händemark in all alone to score on overtime. I don’t know if that was his fault really, I don’t really take notice on who I’m playing. It doesn’t matter if it’s Mo or someone else but that’s probably the thing that sticks out because it’s been on the highlights as it ended up being a goal. "
The Malmö Redhawks fans have a new favorite in their team. He might just be here for the one year, but he's made some lasting impressions. And it seems that the city and team has created som lasting memories for Joe Veleno as well.
Trivia
Movie: “I’ll probably say Step Brothers. There are a lot of good movies. But that’s a classic, I think. “
TV Show: “I’ll say La Casa de Papel”
Music Genre: “Hiphop. I think my favorite artist is probably...Pop Smoke. I know he’s dead now, but…”
Meal: “I like steak with potatoes and caesar sallad.”
Favorite NHL Team: “It is the Red Wings now, yeah! When I was a kid I liked the Washington Capitals. I’m a big Ovechkin guy.”