Inside the Article:
The playing season for several Detroit Red Wings members didn’t conclude at the end of the 2022-23 NHL schedule, as they took their talents overseas to compete for their respective nations in the IIHF World Championship. Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde served as an assistant for Team USA, while the likes of Joe Veleno, Moritz Seider, Carter Mazur, Simon Edvinsson, Dominik Kubalik, Marko Kasper, and others would take to the ice representing their homelands.
Joe Veleno earned a lengthy suspension for dirty stomp
While playing for Team Canada, Red Wings forward Joe Veleno stunned fans everywhere with his inexplicable stomping with his skate on the leg of Swiss player Nino Niederreiter during a puck battle along the boards. He would earn a five-game suspension, which cost him the rest of the tournament.
“I have been notified of the five-game suspension imposed by the IIHF for my actions in our game against Switzerland,” Veleno said in a statement. “I accept the sanctions from the IIHF and apologize for my actions.”
Veleno’s Detroit coach Derek Lalonde responds
Naturally, Lalonde was aware of the incident and soon reached out to Veleno to get his side of the story.
“Yes, I called Joe,” Lalonde said. “Them being in Latvia at the time, I called Joe the very next day after his suspension. Just support. I know that’s not who he is. You’ve seen us all year. That’s not who he is. It’s a moment that probably got away from him a little bit, and he paid for it with a suspension. Just a phone call of support more than anything. And then once we had the crossover I was able to spend some time with him and his brother a little bit at the hotel.”
It sounds as though the two had a good conversation, and that Lalonde isn’t concerned about that sort of thing happening in the future.
Wrapping It Up: We hope Joe Veleno has learned his lesson
Veleno’s stomping of an opponent with his skate is nothing short of a completely reckless and dangerous action, and not something that Red Wings fans want to see from their players.
Let’s hope that Veleno has learned his lesson and never repeats that sort of thing ever again.
