Of Red Wings and Grand Rapids Griffins-related note this afternoon:
1. The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan wrote an article about Red Wings first round draft pick Joel Veleno:
“We had him extremely high on the board,” [Wings director of amateur scouting Tyler] Wright said. “We wanted to target centers, as well. He’s captain of Team Canada at Ivan Hlinka, he’s captain of the under-18 world championship team. Special exemption in the Quebec Major Junior League as a 15-year-old. If you’d have told me we were walking out with Veleno at 30, I would have been shocked. I don’t want to do a lot of comparisons by he skated a lot like Dylan Larkin.”
That’s what Shawn Horcoff, the Wings’ director of player development, also saw during last week’s development camp.
“Incredible,” was Horcoff’s word to describe Veleno’s skating. “He has a good skill set, too. He’s just a guy you can see out there. Can he become that kind of penalty killer with skill, a guy hard to play against and chip in with offense? There’s a lot of areas in the game he could influence.”
Veleno admits there were difficult times as a 15-year-old trying to break into the Quebec League.
“It was (tough),” Veleno said. “There were ups and down. It wasn’t easy, at first, getting used to the pace and strength of the guys. I fell into a great organization in Saint John, and the veterans really helped me, the staff helped me. It became easier the following year. (But as a 15-year-old) I don’t think I really matured. I didn’t start shaving yet. In the playoffs, I couldn’t grow any (facial hair).”
2. Grand Rapids Griffins defenseman Dan Renouf found a landing spot…
The #Canes have signed Dan Renouf to a one-year deal.
The two-way contract will pay $650,000 on the NHL level or $70,000 on the AHL level in 2018-19, with a guarantee of at least $100,000.
?: https://t.co/5k4Svi9oUE pic.twitter.com/9bkLNi6XQ8
— Carolina Hurricanes (@NHLCanes) July 2, 2018
3. And the Red Wings posted a video in which Michael Rasmussen and Givani Smith try not to laugh:
Carolina is the Florida Panthers to our Chicago Blackhawks.
Except Chicago traded in most cases. Carolina just waits for us to dump the carcass.