According to Moritz Seider, Joe Veleno is not a dirty player.
Joe Velenon, 23, the World Cup tournament ended with a blunder. The Canadian center forward made headlines around the world when he stomped Switzerland on his skates Nino Niederreiter on foot on Saturday.
Niederreiter survived the really dangerous stunt without serious injuries. Veleno’s World Cup is over, as the IIHF suspended him for five games.
A German who plays with Veleno in the Detroit Red Wings by Moritz Seider the phone started ringing on Saturday. Germany’s star defender said on Sunday that he only saw the situation when the clips were already circulating on social media.
– I don’t know what he was thinking in that situation. It looked fierce. However, I’m not the right person to judge it, Seider said before the news of the ban came out.
Seider and Veleno know each other well. The German, who is a year younger, shared a photo of them together on his Instagram account at the beginning of May.
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– We are friends. Knowing him, I don’t think Joe meant any harm. Maybe emotions just took over, Seider mused.
– When you think about his history or look at his previous games, you can see that he is definitely not a dirty player. Maybe the step was just a miscalculation, and he tried something else in the situation, and didn’t mean anything bad, Seider defended his NHL teammate.
Veleno’s act has been talked about even in NHL circles. Edmonton Oilers Evander Kane said that “fights are needed in hockey because of tricks like this”.
Niederreiter also wished Veleno a severe punishment.
– There is no place for this in hockey. The game is tough, but meant for gentlemen, the Swiss commented after Saturday’s match.
Detroit Red Wings and Germany star Moritz Seider knows Joe Veleno well. PASI LEISMA