Joe Veleno suspended for remainder of World Hockey Championship after stomping incident

The International Ice Hockey Federation has announced that Team Canada forward Joe Veleno has been issued a five-game suspension for stomping on Nino Neiderreiter’s leg during Switzerland’s 3-2 win at the men’s World Hockey Championship on Saturday.

Veleno was not penalized on the play, and actually ended up drawing a roughing call against Neiderreiter. Tyler Toffoli scored for Canada on the ensuing power play. Neiderreiter was uninjured and remained in the game, helping to set up the game-winner with Veleno on the ice.

Canada has played five games to date, with meetings against Norway (Monday) and Czechia (Tuesday) set to finish out the round-robin. It takes 10 games to finish the tournament if you qualify for the final four, meaning Veleno is done for the tournament.

Canada sits third in Group B with 11 points and is guaranteed a spot in the playoff round.

Veleno’s loss will be a sizeable one for Canada, with the Detroit Red Wings forward scoring twice and adding three assists for five points in his first men’s national team tournament with Canada. Veleno has represented his country at various other international events, with the most recent being his six-point run at the 2020 World Junior Championship when Canada won gold.

Veleno had a career-best 20 points with the Red Wings this year, his first full season in the NHL. The 23-year-old has 36 points in 152 games over three seasons, as well as 36 points in 69 games with the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins.

Canada hasn’t made any changes to its 23-man roster since initially registering it on May 11, one day before the tournament. Canada can add two extra skaters to fill out the full 25-man roster. The team had no extra skaters in the five games prior, but it could mean Adam Fantilli is promoted to the top line after serving as the 13th forward.