Detroit Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman touched on numerous topics during a rare news conference. Filmed Feb. 24, 2020 in Detroit. Detroit Free Press

With the hockey world on pause because of the coronavirus pandemic, this is an opportunity to check in on Detroit Red Wings prospects.

This edition takes a look at forward Joe Veleno. The Wings drafted himat 30th overall in 2018, painting him as a top-notch playmaker and gifted skater.

He spent the 2018-19 season with Drummondville in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, cramming 104 points into 59 games. This season was his first year of pro hockey; when the American Hockey League shut down, hehad 11 goals and 12 assists in 54 games for the Grand Rapids Griffins.

Joe Veleno was selected 30th overall by the Detroit Red Wings at the 2018 NHL draft at American Airlines Center on June 22 in Dallas.(Photo: Tom Pennington, Getty Images)

Like many young players, the jump from juniorto pros has been a learning curve for Veleno, who turned 20 on Jan. 13. He had just started to look more like the player the Wings hoped they drafted when the season was postponed. Now he, along withhis strength and conditioning program, are on hold. As part of the fight to stop the spread of COVID-19, players have been told tostay home as much as possible. The Wings are trying to come up with alternate strength and conditioning routines.

Though Veleno looked better in the second half of the season, he projects to spend more time in the AHL learning how to be the two-way center the Wings want him to be.

More on Wings: Steve Yzerman in daily contact as coronavirus pandemic halts NHL

The Free Press spoke to Shawn Horcoff, the Wings director of player development, about Velenos progress.

Red Wings forward Joe Veleno participates the Detroit Red Wings 2019 development camp at Little Caesars Arena on Wednesday, June 26, 2019.(Photo: Kimberly P. Mitchell, Detroit Free Press)

Hes had a really good second half of the year, Horcoff said. Theres been so much emphasis for him from the coaching side and the development side on his defensive game. He put a lot of hard work into that and hes come a long way. Hes much more comfortable at that now. Hes playing big PK minutes, hes on the ice at the end of the game important minutes. So defensively we are really happy with his game.

The problem is sometimes when you do that, it can affect the offensive side. It can take time to figure out how to play at both ends of the rink properly. For Joe, he really started to figure it out in the second half. The biggest thing I noticed is his skating.He is starting to separate himself down there, hes starting to have confidence to move the puck through the neutral zone, drive wide on D. Thats going to be an asset for him as he gains more strength and maturity.

Our awards: The best and worst of the Red Wings from this season

Veleno was quiet offensivelywith just three points his first 14 games. Then came a spurt with five points in four games in mid-November, after which heshowed better consistency, recording nine points his last 16 games.

For the offensive chances he is getting, his production should probably be even higher, Horcoff said. Thats a good sign. We know that part of the game is going to come for him.

Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter.

See the original post here:

Detroit Red Wings prospect Joe Veleno making progress in first year in pro hockey - Detroit Free Press