Wings address need at center with Veleno

DALLAS -- One of the needs the Detroit Red Wings were looking to address in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft was at center.
After getting a huge break with Filip Zadina at No. 6, the Wings got a little bonus luck late in the first round, finding what they believe will be one answer for the center issue as they drafted Joseph Veleno with the No. 30 pick.

Several mock drafts had Veleno going as high as 13th overall.
"We had him extremely high on the board," said Tyler Wright, Detroit's director of amateur scouting. "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, came in. I don't want to do a lot of comparisons but he skates a lot like Dylan Larkin, he plays the game kind of like Dylan Larkin. We were worried a little bit about Larkin's creativity in his draft year when you really try to pick these guys apart. Obviously, Dylan has answered a lot of those questions for us.
"I don't want to compare him to Larkin, but he fits the mold of what we're trying to accomplish. We want to be fast, we want to be competitive and we want to produce more offense. We're really happy. If you'd have told me we were walking out with Veleno at 30, I would have been shocked."
As Wright mentioned, Veleno was granted Exceptional Player Status by Hockey Canada, which allowed him to play major junior hockey at age 15. Only four other players in the Canadian Hockey League - John Tavares, Aaron Ekblad, Connor McDavid and Sean Day - received that status.
Although he admitted to a few nerves as the first round was drawing to a close, Veleno was not disappointed to be taken 30th.
"I just tried to stay patient," Veleno said. "Anything can happen in the draft. You just got to stay patient at the end of the day. I got my family and friends here supporting me through those times. Anywhere I get picked, whatever rank, whatever team, it's a dream come true to be drafted in the NHL."
Veleno played for the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's Saint John Sea Dogs before being traded to the Drummondville Volitgeurs.
As captain of the Sea Dogs, Veleno had six goals among 31 points in 31 games before taking his offense to a new level, recording 16 goals among 48 points in 33 games for the Volitgeurs.

Mike Morreale of NHL.com had Veleno going 13th to Dallas in his mock draft.
"A fantastic playmaker who rediscovered his scoring touch in the second half with Drummondville after being traded there by Saint John, with 48 points in 33 games after the trade," Morreale said. "He has a great work ethic, is willing to learn and plays with a lot of pace. He also has great leadership traits."
The Red Line Report had Veleno ranked 34th but projected that he would go higher in the draft than that ranking.
Here is the assessment from the Red Line Report: "Slick and creative puckhandler is a traditional playmaking center. Sees the ice extremely well and gets the puck to his linemates in good scoring position. Able to make delicate touch passes off both sides of the blade. Reads and anticipates developing plays and gets to the right spots early. Has excellent stop-and-go ability to shake loose from defenders and get out of scrums with the puck. Has a very poor shot and will not score on NHL netminders. Tends to telegraph his shot and needs to improve both the power and his release. Plays a mature, advanced two-way game and is responsible in his defensive assignments. Great character kid with strong leadership skills. Highly coachable and will fill whatever role is asked of him. Victim of overly high expectations as the QMJHL's first "exceptional status" player. Ceiling may not be as high as once thought, but low bust potential."
The Red Line Report compared him to Montreal's Phillip Danault.
Veleno assessed his assets, saying, "I think my hockey IQ and my skill, those are two things that make me an elite player. I think my hockey IQ to find guys in open areas of the ice and make the right decisions at certain times. I've got to use my skill. I'm creative with the puck, finding guys in the open areas, making moves and being shifty, being agile, I think that's what gets me through."
Unlike Zadina, Veleno has visited Detroit.
"When I went to Windsor, I visited a little bit of Detroit," Veleno said. "My family got to see a bit of Detroit, what it's like. It's a real fun town, a lot of things to do there, so I'm really excited to go back there."
Veleno was in Windsor when his Saint John Sea Dogs won the Memorial Cup there in 2017.
Veleno was accompanied at the draft by a large contingent of family and friends in Dallas, who made their delight known when the Wings made their pick.
"I didn't count them but I think there's about 20 of them," Veleno said. "I think they've all been with me since Day 1 and they've all seen me grow up and play hockey since I was a little kid. They're pretty much the reasons why I'm here today and made me who I am. Without them I don't think this day would be possible."
WINGS HAPPY WITH DAY ONE, HAVE MORE WORK TO DO: The Wings were very pleased with how things fell for them on the first day of the draft.
"We were surprised," Wings general manager Ken Holland told NBC Sports Network. Obviously, we thought Zadina would go in the top five and we're certainly thrilled to get him. A guy that can score. You always need scoring, and then obviously with Joe Veleno, we got great speed and he got into the league early, so a great draft for us so far in the first round. We're happy with two high-skilled players."
The Wings still have nine more picks remaining in the draft, including two early in the second round at 33 and 36.
They have three picks in the third round - 67, 81 and 84 -a fourth-round pick at 98, two sixth-round picks at 159 and 160, and a seventh-round pick at 191.
"We're going to go back tonight and kind of really analyze our draft grid," Wright said. "Who's picking around us? Kind of try to see what they're thinking a little bit. We don't have to wait too long tomorrow. We're coming right out of the gate. We got 33 and 36. I think we're gonna probably have a lot of opportunities with phone calls. And then were right back at it with 67, 81 and 84. I think we can be selective but I think early we're gonna probably take the best players. We've still got some good players on our board."
In addition to centers, the Wings do have another need they would most certainly like to address on day two.
"We want to get some D at some point," Holland said. "We just felt we couldn't pass these forwards up. Picked twice today and tomorrow we're back on the board, so we're getting excited."