Team Canada and Red Wings forward Joe Veleno has been suspended five games for violating IIHF rules on kicking at the 2023 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship. Here’s what you need to know:
- Veleno stepped on Swiss captain Nino Niederreiter’s leg with his skates during the second period of Saturday’s round-robin loss against Switzerland.
- Officials did not call a fatal man on Veleno, but later gave Niederreiter a two-minute minor penalty for retaliating against Veleno.
- Veleno will miss Canada’s next five games, starting with Monday’s match against Norway, the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Regulatory Committee announced.
Backstory
Veleno, 23, violated a section of the IIHF rules that describes kicking as “a player’s intentional use of his skate(s) with a kicking motion to propel the puck or make contact with an opponent.”
Veleno has not been suspended in his NHL career, but was suspended one game during the 2019 World Junior Ice Hockey Championship for a hit to the head.
Bottom rider told reporters After Saturday’s game, Veleno called the move “not our game” and dangerous.
Required reading
(Photo: Gints Ivuskans / AFP via Getty Images)
