I thought Veilleux showed why he’s going to be such a polarizing prospect for me in this year’s draft. The highs he demonstrates are super intriguing, but the lows are still somewhat concerning, even if I still think he has enough time to figure things out. He’s a hyper aggressive defender, especially in his rush defending where often opts for pinching and step ups that can either kill plays and initiate quick counterattacks or go awry and lead to odd man rushes the other way. In the defensive zone he was able to use a decent first couple of steps and long reach to gap up and limit time and space along the perimeter before closing out opposing forwards with a physical body check to dislodge them of the puck. He wasn’t exactly the primary puck-mover on his pairing, often opting to revert to his partner on regroups or retrievals to initiate plays up the ice. His best moments came from the offensive blueline in, where he was able to utilize his hard and accurate shot to beat goaltenders from distance and either flash a few moments of high-end skill and creativity to beat forecheckers with deceptive head fakes and puck skills to get down low in the zone.

After watching him at his provinces High Performance camp over the summer I expected Veilleux to have a bigger offensive role than he did here. That’s not to say he disappointed at all; I thought he actually demonstrated a more detailed defensive game, especially off the rush, than id seen from him before which made me more optimistic about his translatability. His best moments came while defending off the rush where he was able to guide attackers to the exterior and using his stick and long reach to thwart attempts to the inside or angling them out along the boards with a body check. He showed a proactive side to his defending as well by stepping up in the neutral zone to break up passes and kickstart a counterattack. There were some flashes of high-end offensive moments and confidence throughout where he was able to beat checkers at the offensive blueline by using puck skills to work around him to get in down low while also demonstrating some deceptive vision from the point by incorporating slap passes to get pucks cross-ice to teammates.

There’s no denying that Veilleux is one of this year’s more intriguing draft prospects early on. At 6’6 and 183 lbs he was sure to draw the attention of QMJHL scouts regardless, but the above-average offensive ability and immense confidence with the puck make him an even rarer archetype. The results at this camp were a bit mixed, as I think Veilleux definitely has some developmental runway left in both his decision-making on his outlets and his reads in all three zones. For the latter, he often relied on his physical tools too much, hoping his long reach could get him out of trouble when he decided to make a pinch at the line. The highs at this camp came with his play on the puck, where he showed high-end puck skills that allowed him to maneuver around players in the neutral zone and even beat some defenders in one on one situations. From the offensive blueline he was consistently able to manipulate opposing players at the line, using a series of fakes to get them to drop so he could either open up shooting lanes inorganically or work his way around them into space.

Veilleux stood out in this game by making smart reads in the neutral zone while flashing some intriguing skill for a large defender. He kept a good gap while defending off the rush, showing some strong lateral movement and backwards skating to close in on attackers quickly, force them to the boards and cancel them with a hard body check. He made a strong read in the neutral zone to step up on a puck-carrier who was vulnerable, strip them of the puck and start a three on one rush that was denied. His best play came in the first period when he showcased his slick puck skills to deke through a checker at the offensive blueline putting the puck between his legs to get in down low to get a shot off from a better scoring area.

I thought this was a slightly better performance from Veilleux. While the misreads in the neutral zone and the inconsistent puck-moving were still there, he flashed solid recovery tools, such as using his long reach to poke pucks from attackers even after they got a step on him. The offensive skills for a 6’6 defender are still quite absurd. He had a really strong sequence in the latter half of the game when he was able to use his hands to beat the first layer of pressure in the neutral zone, toe dragged around a defender upon entry in the offensive zone and just missed on a behind the back pass.

Early on in this game Veilleux displayed some strong scanning habits while going back on his retrievals which allowed him to make quick plays below the goal line that lead to some controlled exits. At 6’6, his wingspan comes in handy in defending the neutral zone and stepping up on puck carriers to deny easy zone entries, but what I was most impressed with was his offensive creativity. From the offensive blueline he was utilizing fake shots to get checkers to bite, open up a shooting lane and get pucks through from the point. Veilleux showed good vision from atop the zone as well, executing some downhill passes through seams to teammates for scoring chances. The puck-moving was a bit hit or miss in this contest, but there’s a lot to like in Veilleux’s game especially with the runway he has in terms of development.