From Drummondville to Grand Rapids
By Kara Keating, griffinshockey.com
In the hockey community, it is not unusual for players to reunite with former teammates. In this case, two players ended up back together this season after graduating from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
Rookie forwards Joe Veleno and Gregor MacLeod are joining forces as teammates once again this year and this time it's for the Grand Rapids Griffins.
“He’s a good guy to hang around with,” Veleno said. “Last year when I first met him in Drummondville, we built a little bit of chemistry by being on the ice together and hanging out off the ice. We built a pretty good relationship and now coming here together, it definitely helps off the ice by just having someone you’re familiar with and who you’ve played with in the past.”
During their lone season together with the Drummondville Voltigeurs in 2018-19, Veleno lead the team with 104 points behind 42 goals and 62 assists while MacLeod's 84 points (35-49—84) ranked third.
Even though they have only played on the same team with each other for a year, MacLeod describes their friendship as very close.
“It was great playing with him,” MacLeod said of his final QMJHL season. “We had fun every game. We competed. Me and Joey, we connected from the start and we had a great time.”
When Veleno first joined Drummondville after being traded from the Saint John Sea Dogs, the team mixed different lines together every night. After a few games, he approached his coaches and asked to be put on a line with MacLeod to see what would happen.
From there, they dominated.
“I remember both of us just kind of carrying the team and everything was just clicking,” Veleno said. “We seemed to really find our chemistry and I think we knew that we would do a lot of damage together in our league. We ended up putting some pretty good numbers and here we are now.”
In the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, the Red Wings selected Veleno 30th overall with their second pick of the night. Filip Zadina was drafted by Detroit earlier in the first round at No. 6.
After Veleno and MacLeod skated together for several games, people began to notice the strong chemistry the two brought. It even caught the eyes of a few Red Wings personnel.
“They really liked what Gregor brought to the game,” Veleno said. “They asked me about him a little bit and it was nothing but good things.”
MacLeod went undrafted in both the QMJHL and the NHL and signed a one-year contract with the Griffins back on March 26, 2019.
Although the two have yet to play on the same line this season, MacLeod looks forward to the experience he will gain with the Griffins.
“I’m looking forward to playing, coming to the rink and hanging out with these guys,” he said. “I’m learning a lot of things from the older guys. I’m trying my best and having fun.”
Photos at top by Sam Iannamico/Griffins