from Joe Veleno at DetroitRedWings.com,

Hi everybody, I know it has been a while since my last blog entry, but I have been adjusting to life as a professional hockey player. It has been a fun learning experience with highs and lows, yet there is nothing I would rather be doing than playing pro hockey.

Honestly, when I was sent down to Grand Rapids I was a little disappointed but at the same time, it's kind of the process. Sometimes it happens for good reason. It's a good spot to be in. Grand Rapids is a really cool city and guys are kind of spoiled over here in the AHL with our team. Everyone's really friendly, everyone's willing to help each other and we're all willing to get better and to hopefully one day go to the big club. Everything's been good so far, I like it. Things are going well.

The difference between NHL players and AHL players, there's not a tremendous difference. It's a really good league down here. You've got guys here that have played a while in the NHL and guys who are capable of playing in the NHL. It's a good a good step in my development playing in Grand Rapids. Though I thought I had a really good training camp, I still have a lot of things to improve on and in order to improve, I must play a lot. The Red Wings know there is a lot more minutes for me down here in Grand Rapids. They figured that probably in the NHL, I wouldn't be playing as much. As I said, it's part of the process and I'm really okay with that. Obviously I want to play, I want to play hockey and I want to be on the ice as much as possible, like every hockey player. I'm still a young kid and when I think about it, I got a lot of work to do ahead of me. Being here, it's a good step in the right direction.

In Grand Rapids I am learning what it takes to play at the pro level.

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