Joe Veleno receives INSANE suspension at World Junior Championship.

This is outrageous.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 4 years ago
Joe Veleno receives INSANE suspension at World Junior Championship.
Jaroslav Ozana/CTK/Zuma

So this appears to be rather insane. 

Earlier today TSN National Hockey League insider Frank Seravalli reported that he was hearing whispers about a potential suspension coming down from the International Ice Hockey Federation as it pertains to the World Junior Championship. Upon learning that the suspension would potentially impact a Canadian player my first thought was that the IIHF would be taking action against Team Canada captain Barrett Hayton after he disrespected the Russian national anthem earlier in the tournament. I was shocked to learn however that it was not Hayton who was facing a potential suspension but instead it was Detroit Red Wings forward Joe Veleno, for an alleged headbutt. 

Now I was even more surprised when I learned of the infraction for which Veleno was facing a potential suspension as I genuinely could not recall the Canadian center ever delivering a headbutt to an opposing player during the course of the tournament, but that is only because I was looking for the wrong thing. You see it appears that this is not the result of some type of vicious headbutt on the part of Veleno, but rather comes off the heels of a rather innocuous moment in which Veleno had some words with one of the players from Team Russia. Not keep in mind I am not 100% certain that this is the incident that led to the suspension, however it does appear to be the only thing over the course of the game that comes anywhere close to meeting the traditional criteria for a headbutt. 

What also lends credence to my theory about this being the incident that has led to the suspension is the fact that the IIHF itself seems to have acknowledged that there was absolutely no harm caused as a result of this incident. 

From their official ruling:

Based on all facts ascertained, the Disciplinary Panel determined that Veleno repeatedly and intentionally made direct contact with Misyul’s helmet. The fact that Veleno’s actions did not directly endanger the physical integrity of Misyul does not prevent the application of Official Playing Rule 142 (Head-Butting). On both occasions, Veleno’s action of bringing his helmet forward and towards Misyul fulfills the criteria of a Head-Butt as set out under Official Playing Rule 142 (Head-Butting), and warrants a one-game suspension. 

I have got to be honest here, this seems like an absurd reason to hand out a one game suspension. The IIHF however answers to no one and it seems unlikely that Veleno has any recourse here. 

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