Joe Veleno skates horribly on an opponent’s ankle

The preliminary round of the World Hockey Championship continued today. For the occasion, Canada faced Switzerland in a match played earlier today.

It was an important match for both clubs, as Canada (3-1) took on Switzerland (4-0), who were sitting atop Group B. And Samuel Montembeault clearly understood this, standing up to his opponents’ 16 shots in the first period.

In a period dominated by the Swiss, Montembeault did what he’s been doing all year in Montreal: keeping his team in the game even when outrageously outshot.

AFTER 1 | Sam Montembeault stops 16 shots and it’s still 0-0 between 🇨🇦 and 🇨🇭.

AFTER 20 MIN | Sam Montembeault stops 16 shots and it’s still 0-0 between 🇨🇦 and 🇨🇭.

📺 @TSN_Sports / @RDSca
💻https://t.co/Wj8YMmeBgO
💻https://t.co/Sdh4gXfdNK#IIHFWorlds | #MondialIIHF pic.twitter.com/3mG9Bka7IN

– Field hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada) May 20, 2023

That said, in the second period, another Canadian made his presence felt for all the wrong reasons. In a battle along the boards, Joe Veleno and Nino Niederreiter found themselves in close quarters.

And for some reason, Veleno did something disgusting: he delivered a horrible skate to his opponent’s ankle.

Pay attention to his right leg at the very beginning of the video:

On the sequence, Veleno was not penalized. In fact, it was Niederreiter who was penalized for his double-check at the very end of the sequence, after Veleno had continued to chase him for a few seconds.

Even worse: on the ensuing power play, Canada took the lead thanks to a Tyler Toffoli goal. And the Swiss fans on hand weren’t exactly satisfied customers.

First goal of the tournament for the captain! 🚨

First goal of the tournament for the captain! 🚨#IIHFWorlds | #MondialIIHFpic.twitter.com/R1zVf1WIWf

– Field hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada) May 20, 2023

Getting back to Veleno, that said, just because he wasn’t penalized on the sequence doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll get off scot-free. We know that the IIHF is much stricter than the NHL when it comes to player discipline, and clearly, Veleno is in for a good suspension.

Don’t rule out the idea of his tournament being over, for example.

In the end, however, the Swiss had the last word. They scored three unanswered goals, and despite a late goal from Michael Carcone, André Tourigny’s team lost 3-2.

In the end, Montembeault turned aside 23 of the 26 shots he faced (Nico Hischier, Dario Simion and Andres Ambuhl had the better of it).

Nico Hischier ties it with a top-shelf snipe.🎯🇨🇭 @SwissIceHockey @njdevils pic.twitter.com/aDa8JzbCtS

– IIHF (@IIHFHockey) May 20, 2023

Canada will have a day off tomorrow before returning to action against Norway on Monday. I seriously doubt Veleno will be in uniform, but it will be one to watch.

Extension

In addition to Montembeault, there’s also Justin Barron among the CH players representing Canada. That said, he’s not playing much (he only spent 10:08 on the ice today) and he didn’t get on the scoresheet in any way today.

In five games, he has one assist and a +1 rating. In a limited role, he’s not hurting his club, and that’s just fine.