Philippe Veilleux is hot, and other draft eligibles lighting it up right now
Philippe Veilleux continues to put up big numbers in his draft-eligible season.
The forward from Val-d’Or of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League has already set a career high with 59 points (28 goals, 31 assists) in 46 games, adding six points (four goals, two assists) in a pair of wins over the weekend.
Veilleux, no. 85 in FCHockey’s Winter ranking for the 2025 NHL Draft, opened the scoring for Val-d’Or in their 10-6 win against Charlottetown to get his team back within one after allowing the first two goals of the contest. He then scored the tying goal to make the game 3-3 late in the first. The forward added an even-strength goal and a power-play assist as Val-d’Or began to pull away in the second period with a trio of goals. He closed out the night with a power play goal on the ninth goal by his team in the game.
Val-d’Or wasn’t done scoring goals, and neither was Veilleux. In a 7-2 win against Saint John, the 5-foot-9 forward added a pair. He scored the game-winning goal on the power play with a perfectly placed wrist shot.
“Veilleux is a talented and shifty winger who demonstrates superior vision compared to his peers,” FCHockey scout Joey Fortin Boulay said. “He shows a lot of confidence and elusiveness with the puck. He’s a dangerous player when he gets the puck to the middle, as he sells the shot extremely well to feed the one-timer off the flank accurately. He’s also menacing from the trailer spot with his quick release, which is not a particular strength but still forces defenders to respect it.”
Here are some of the other top performers from the last week of hockey.
Carter Bear, Everett Silvertips (WHL)
Carter Bear continued his torred scoring pace this week with another eight points (four goals, four assists) in four games. Everett had an up-and-down week with a 7-3 loss to Medicine Hat on Wednesday night, followed by a 7-3 win over Kelowna, then fell 10-3 to Spokane before closing out the week with a 5-4 win over Kamloops. Bear’s biggest game was a three-point performance, including one goal and two assists, against Kelowna.
Bear ranked no. 35, is now up to 75 points (36 goals, 39 assists) in 44 games — second in the league amongst draft-eligible forwards behind Ben Kindel.
Cole Reschny, Victoria Royals (WHL)
Kashawn Aitcheson, Barrie Colts (OHL)
Kashawn Aitcheson had a monster week with seven points (four goals, three assists) in three games. The Barrie defenseman is up to 17 goals in the 2024-25 season after sniping in each of his team’s games this week. One of the most productive blueliners in the Ontario Hockey League had one of his best games on Saturday, registering two goals, an assist, and five shots on goal as Barrie escaped with a big 7-6 over time win against Niagara.
The physical, point-producing defender, who was ranked no. 21, has 38 points (17 goals, 21 assists) in 45 games — second-most among draft eligible defensemen in the OHL behind Cameron Reid.
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