The Buffalo Bandits have signed unrestricted free agent Daryl Veltman to a two-year deal, drawing the leftie forward away from the Calgary Roughnecks. This ends a five-year relationship between the Roughnecks and Veltman, who they acquired after the Boston Blazers folded.
In five seasons with the Riggers, Veltman contributed 265 points (87 goals, 178 assists) with his biggest impact coming on the powerplay where he notched 30 goals and 75 assists with his heavy outside shot.
Although he never achieved the lofty stats he put up in his two seasons with the Blazers (77 PTS as a rookie; 65 PTS as a sophomore), in Calgary he was always supporting cast for the big guns like Shawn Evans, Curtis Dickson and Jeff Shattler, so he had to fight for minutes on the floor with guys like Matthew Dinsdale and Scott Ranger.
Still he was perfectly capable of big nights when the team needed it: twice in the last month of the 2013 season he picked up eight points against the Edmonton Rush; in 2012 he had a nine-point effort in February against the Colorado Mammoth.
Letting an important piece like Veltman get away tells me that Calgary is pinning their offensive future on the upcoming draft where they will select twice in the first round. Losing Veltman this year and having Ranger retire after the 2014 season has taken what used to be the deepest group of forwards in the NLL and turned them into a team group that has holes. Mid-season acquisition Sean Pollock might be a guy they need to keep to maintain some depth up front if their draft picks aren’t ready to make a splash at the start of the season.
Then again, it is a deep draft….
The Bandits are getting a consistent offensive threat in Veltman, a player who can get you three or four points every night—which will be critical if John Tavares decides to hang ’em up—and a guy who hasn’t spent a single minute in the penalty box in three seasons, so you know he won’t make stupid mistakes. His ability to make plays and let fly with long range shots should add another dimension to the Bandits offensive scheme which is already one of the most potent in the NLL.
I’m sad to see him head east, but wish him all the best in the future.
