JOSEPH VELENO
North American Skater - Drummondville, QMJHL
Final Rank:8Midterm Rank:13
Position:CenterShoots:Left
Height:6' 1"Weight:191
Born:January 13, 2000Hometown:Kirkland, Que.
Born in:Montreal, QC, CAN
Drafted: 2018: DET (1st Round / 30th Overall) 

• Veleno posted 6-25—31 in 31 GP as captain of Saint John in 2017-18 before a mid-season trade to Drummondville (16-32—48 in 33 GP). His 57 assists overall were tied for the third-most in the QMJHL, trailing only Alex Barre-Boulet (63) and Vitalii Abramov (59). He added 5-6—11 in the 2018 QMJHL Playoffs (10 GP), including scoring the series-clinching goal in Game 5 of the First Round against Cape Breton.

• He was a member of Saint John’s President Cup-winning team in 2017, recording 8-3—11 in 18 playoff games en route to a QMJHL championship. At the 2017 Memorial Cup, Veleno produced at a point-per-game pace (3-1—4 in 4 GP) before the Sea Dogs bowed out in the semi-finals.

• Veleno was selected first overall in the 2015 QMJHL Entry Draft after becoming the fifth player to be granted Exceptional Player Status by Hockey Canada, allowing him to play major junior hockey as a 15-year-old. The others: John Tavares, Aaron Ekblad, Connor McDavid and Sean Day.

• Internationally, Veleno represented Canada at the 2018 Under-18 World Championship (0-3—3 in 4 GP) and captained his country to a gold medal at the 2017 Ivan Hlinka Memorial (2-5—7 in 5 GP).

• Models his style of play after Blackhawks forward Jonathan Toews.

STATISTICS

SEASONTEAMLEAGUEGPGAPPIM
2023-2024DETROITNHL8012162825
2022-2023DETROITNHL819112030
2022-2023CANADA (2023 IIHF World Championship)ITLTOUR52352
2021-2022DETROITNHL66871522
2021-2022GRAND RAPIDSAHL1164104
2020-2021MALMOSWEDEN461192020
2020-2021DETROITNHL51014
2020-2021GRAND RAPIDSAHL41234
2019-2020GRAND RAPIDSAHL5411122318
2019-2020CANADA (2020 WJC Championships)ITLTOUR61568
2018-2019DRUMMONDVILLEQMJHL59426210419
2018-2019CANADA (2019 WJC Championships)NATOUR50220
2017-2018DRUMMONDVILLEQMJHL3316324822
2017-2018SAINT JOHNQMJHL316253126
2017-2018CAN U18 (Ivan Hlinka Memorial 2017)ITLTOUR52578
2017-2018CAN (2018 IIHF U18 World Championship)ITLTOUR40330
2016-2017SAINT JOHNQMJHL4513274018
2016-2017CAN U18 (Ivan Hlinka Memorial 2016)ITLTOUR40442
2015-2016SAINT JOHNQMJHL6213304321