from Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News,

“We had him extremely high on the board,” Wright said. “We wanted to target centers, as well. He’s captain of Team Canada at Ivan Hlinka, he’s captain of the under-18 world championship team. Special exemption in the Quebec Major Junior League as a 15-year-old.

“If you’d have told me we were walking out with Veleno at 30, I would have been shocked.

“I don’t want to do a lot of comparisons by he skated a lot like Dylan Larkin.”

That’s what Shawn Horcoff, the Wings’ director of player development, also saw during last week’s development camp.

“Incredible,” was Horcoff’s word to describe Veleno’s skating. “He has a good skill set, too. He’s just a guy you can see out there. Can he become that kind of penalty killer with skill, a guy hard to play against and chip in with offense?

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