Stéphane Veilleux (born November 16, 1981) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

former

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who work (human activity), works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the partic ...

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

left winger In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

. He most notably played in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL) with the

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Confer ...

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. The Lightning compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the ...

and the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The club w ...

Playing career

As a youth, Veilleux played in the 1994 and 1995

Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament The Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament () is an annual minor ice hockey event in Quebec City. The tournament was founded in 1960 to coincide with the Quebec Winter Carnival, and give an opportunity for international competition to p ...

s with a

minor ice hockey Minor ice hockey or minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body c ...

team from

Beauce, Quebec Beauce (; ) is a historical and traditional region of Quebec, Canada, located south of Quebec City. Most of it is part of the administrative region of Chaudière-Appalaches. It corresponds approximately to the regional county municipalities of ...

. Veilleux was drafted in the third round, 93rd overall by the

in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. He went on to play a total of six seasons for the Wild, playing many games alongside star forward

Marián Gáborík Marián Gáborík (; born 14 February 1982) is a Slovak former professional ice hockey right winger. He began his playing career in the Slovak Extraliga with Dukla Trenčín for two seasons before being drafted third overall in the 2000 NHL E ...

. After the 2008–09 season, the Wild decided not to renew his contract, and he was released into unrestricted free agency. On July 7, 2009, he signed a one-year contract with the

. On December 28, 2009, he skated in his 400th career NHL game, playing against the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...

. In October 2010, Veilloux signed for

Espoo Blues Kiekko-Espoo is a Finnish professional ice hockey club founded in 2018 as a continuation of the Kiekko-Espoo team originally founded in 1984. Kiekko-Espoo men's team plays in the Liiga, where they were promoted for the 2024–25 Liiga season, 20 ...

of the Finnish

SM-liiga The Liiga, colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. The league comprises 16 teams from all around Finland with relegation and promotion between the Mest ...

. He left the team in January and signed with Swiss

National League A The National League (NL) is a professional ice hockey league in Switzerland and the highest level of the Swiss league system. Prior to the 2017–18 season, the league was known as National League A. During the 2018–19 season, the league h ...

team

HC Ambrì-Piotta Hockey Club Ambrì-Piotta is a Swiss professional ice hockey club and a member of the National League (NL). The club was founded September 19, 1937, and is also known as "Bianco-Blu" (English: white and blues). Though they have never won the leagu ...

. On July 29, 2011, he then signed a one-year deal with the

. On February 24, 2012, Veilleux was traded, along with Kurtis Foster,

Nick Palmieri Nicholas Palmieri (born July 12, 1989) is an American former professional ice hockey player. He was selected by the New Jersey Devils in the third-round of the 2007 NHL Draft. Playing career As a youth, Palmieri played in the 2002 Quebec Int ...

and the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The Capitals compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NH ...

' second-round pick in

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, back to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for defenceman

Marek Židlický Marek Židlický (; born ) is a Czechs, Czech former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the sixth round, 176th overall, by the New York Rangers in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. Playing ...

Personal life

Veilleux is known as an avid

table tennis Table tennis (also known as ping-pong) is a racket sport derived from tennis but distinguished by its playing surface being atop a stationary table, rather than the Tennis court, court on which players stand. Either individually or in teams of ...

player in his spare time, and also plays before games as warm-ups.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Veilleux, Stephane 1981 births Living people Albany Devils players Canadian ice hockey left wingers Espoo Blues players HC Ambrì-Piotta players Houston Aeros (1994–2013) players Ice hockey people from Chaudière-Appalaches Iowa Wild players Minnesota Wild draft picks Minnesota Wild players New Jersey Devils players Oji Eagles players People from Saint-Georges, Quebec Tampa Bay Lightning players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Val-d'Or Foreurs players Victoriaville Tigres players 21st-century Canadian sportsmen Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Finland