Red Wings call up first round pick Joe Veleno.

One of Detroit's most talked about prospects is making his way up to the National Hockey League roster.

According to an official announcement on Saturday morning, the Red Wings have made the move to call up centerman Joe Veleno from the American Hockey League. Veleno, a Red Wings first round draft pick (30th overall) at the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, has been a player that has had a great deal of expectations placed on him due to his draft pedigree but he is also a player that has thus far failed to crack the Red Wings roster as an NHL regular.

This season Veleno has played all 5 of his games at the AHL level with the Red Wings' affiliate team the Grand Rapids Griffins. Over that stretch he has recorded 3 goals, good enough to make him the team's leading goal scorer so far this season.

The motivations for today's move are unclear at this time. It could very well be that a solid showing from Veleno both in training camp and in the American Hockey League has led general manager Steve Yzerman to believe that Veleno has earned a shot at playing in the NHL this season.

On the other hand the Red Wings will be playing in Canada this evening which means that they will be without forward Tyler Bertuzzi in the lineup due to his vaccination status. There has also been some speculation that forward Adam Erne might be unavailable for the Red Wings after he was noticeably in pain after blocking a shot during the Red Wings' loss to the Florida Panthers on Friday night.

Veleno was drafted as a center by the Red Wings but he shoots from his left. This could make him a suitable replacement for both Bertuzzi and Erne, both of whom are left wingers, who both also shoot from their left.

Since being drafted by the Red Wings, Veleno has only appeared in 5 career NHL games. Over that stretch he has 1 goal and no assists and has 4 penalty minutes to his name.