Red Wings mull what’s best for young center Joe Veleno – Detroit News
“Joe is doing a fine job. I haven’t been disappointed in Joe,” Blashill said. “Can he grab more? Certainly. It’s not always easy. His ice time has been fine. It’s not that he can’t do anything in that time but it’s not necessarily going to lend itself into being easy to grab more.
“How does he grab more? He can use his big body to win more battles, find ways to be a little quicker in his decision-making with the puck. He’s a young kid playing in the NHL and it’s not going to be easy, but I’ve been totally fine with his progress.”
This was before last night’s game where Veleno was the guy Mickey Redmond pointed out who came off the bench and didn’t cover the defensive zone effectively, leading to Rasmus Sandin’s game-winner. That wasn’t so much a “using his big body to win more battles” lapse as losing the situational awareness.
To be honest, I thought Veleno used his body pretty effectively in the game against the Leafs but did make a number of mental errors where he seemed to be focusing more on how his body could be used against a player and forgetting that the puck’s movement remains a priority.
Quick Shifts: Crowning midseason NHL Awards winners – Sportsnet
Calder Trophy: Moritz Seider (Lucas Raymond, Trevor Zegras)Seider leads all freshmen in minutes, assists and power-play points. Much higher level of difficulty stepping into the show as a top-four D-man compared to a top-six forward.
Luke Fox is a genius