On the occasion of School Perseverance Week East Hill Elementary School in RDP welcomed back former student and a member of the Montreal Canadiens hockey team, Joe Veleno, on February 16.
Veleno attended the school from Kindergarten to Grade 6, before his family moved to the West Island. He was greeted with loud cheers at a full school assembly and accepted the offer to become a special ambassador for EMSB Nutrition Month in March.
Veleno was drafted 30th overall in the first round of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft by the Detroit Red Wings. As a junior, he played in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), where he became the first player from Quebec granted exceptional player status allowing him to enter major junior hockey at age 15. He was drafted first overall in the 2015 QMJHL draft by the Saint John Sea Dogs and later played with the Drummondville Voltigeurs. The Canadiens signed him as a free-agent last summer.
During the East Hill visit Veleno reconnected with Kristina Provost, a classmate back in the day who is now a Grade 4 teacher there. In addition, many of his former teachers and daycare personnel still on staff were thrilled to greet him. After addressing the students, he visited the K 4 and K5 classes where he was showered with Montreal Canadiens drawings in crayon. Among those in attendance were 14 junior hockey players from the EMSB's Lester B. Pearson High School Sports-études program.
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Read The Montreal Gazette story by Stu Cowan: https://montrealgazette.com/sports/hockey/montreal-canadiens/cowan-canadiens-joe-veleno-goes-back-to-his-elementary-school-roots
