Detroit Red Wings: Draftee Joe Veleno wants to 'shove it' to rest of NHL

Helene St. James | Detroit Free Press

Show Caption Hide Caption Watch: Prospect Joe Veleno on Wings development camp Joe Veleno, drafted 30th by the Red Wings, is at his first development camp on June 26, 2018 at Little Caesars Arena.

Two blue-chip prospects with chips on their shoulders? Sounds good for the Detroit Red Wings.

Days after winger Filip Zadina had the best quote of the 2018 NHL draft when he said he was going to make the teams that passed over him pay by filling their nets with pucks, center Joe Veleno lobbed his own discontent. Projected to go mid-first round, he didn’t hear his name called until the Wings drafted him with one spot to go in the first round.

“I don’t think I was a 30th pick,” Veleno said Tuesday, on what was the first day of the Wings' development camp. It’s a five-day orientation that touches on practices, the gym, video, nutrition and cooking.

“I think I could have gone a lot earlier, in my opinion, but I was lucky enough to fall to a historic, great organization in Detroit,” Veleno said. “But for sure it motivates me even more to be better than all those players that went ahead of me and turn out to be the best player in that draft.”

If Veleno and Zadina turn these perceived slights into career achievements, the Wings will benefit. Zadina, who’d been projected to go as high as third, was passed over by Montreal, Ottawa and Arizona. Friday night in Dallas, that didn’t sit well with him, and prompted this beauty: “I was telling my agent, if they will pass on me, I’m going to fill their nets with pucks,” Zadina said. “I want to prove to Detroit that they make a pretty good decision.”

More on NHL draft:

Why Wings earned 'A'; Zadina on team in fall?

How Filip Zadina can help accelerate Wings' rebuild

So in their version of vengeance, Veleno is feeding Zadina the pucks that fill the nets against the Canadiens, Senators and Coyotes?

“I think I am going to help him do that,” Veleno said. “Our types of games are different — he is more of a scorer, and I’m more of a passer, so hopefully I can help him with that. But I mean, for any player who slides in the draft, obviously it kind of gets to you a little bit and you want to kind of shove it to the other teams that passed you.

“I want to do the same thing. I want to be better than all those guys that went ahead of and prove to all the teams that they shouldn’t have passed on me.”

Veleno is an elite skater and two-way forward. Zadina is an agile scorer with a fantastic shot. He was so eager to start development camp he asked director of player development Shawn Horcoff if the ice was ready Monday.

“The kid wanted to come skate and work out yesterday,” Horcoff said. “He wanted to get on the ice. He wants to make an impression. He is disappointed with where he got drafted, which is impressive for us. He has come out and he’s confident he can score. We’re hoping he does, because that’s what we need. His play is going to tell if he is ready or not."

Zadina looked confident in his first practice, showing off that quick-release shot that makes him such a threat to score. He smiled as he spoke afterwards, touching on the city, Little Caesars Arena, and his growing popularity that’s come with his outgoing personality at the draft.

“It was great feeling when I was drafted by Detroit,” Zadina said. “The city is awesome. The arena — I was like, “wow,’ because I had never seen before this rink. It’s just unbelievable.”

He’s aware of the excitement he’s caused among Wings fans, because “every single day when I check the Instagram, it’s like 200 more followers.”

Development camp is designed to help set up prospects for a fruitful summer and benefit them as they attempt to turn pro. Zadina’s is high on the depth chart, but he knows “I need to prove to them I am good player and I deserve to get a spot on the team. I have a chance, but I need to take it and play my best hockey.”

He laughed when told of Veleno’s comments.

“He is good guy, so if we play together, it will be awesome,” Zadina said. “He is a good center, so we could play well together. If he will pass me the puck so I can score the goals, it would be awesome.”

Love you Detroit 🏒❤️ A post shared by FZ11 (@filip_zadina) on Jun 26, 2018 at 3:20pm PDT

Contact Helene St. James: hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Check out our Red Wings Xtra app on Apple and Android!