Max Veronneau

Maximilian Cross Véronneau is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who is currently playing with Leksands IF of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). Véronneau played junior ice hockey in his hometown of Ottawa, then joined the Princeton University Tigers. After completing his senior season at Princeton, he signed as a free agent with the Ottawa Senators of the NHL.

Playing career After playing junior 'A' ice hockey in Ottawa, Ontario, with the Gloucester Rangers, Véronneau entered Princeton University in 2015. In his junior year 2017–18, Véronneau placed second in NCAA Division 1 scoring 17 goals and 38 assists for 55 points in 36 games. In 2017, Véronneau attended the Vegas Golden Knights' development camp. After four seasons with the Princeton Tigers, Véronneau was regarded as one of the top NCAA free agents. He signed as a free agent with his hometown Senators in March 2019, signing a two-year entry-level contract. He made his NHL debut on March 14, 2019, against the St. Louis Blues. Véronneau was named the third star of the game. He finished his first season with the Senators playing in 12 games and scoring two goals and four points.

At the beginning of the 2019–20 season, Véronneau was assigned to Ottawa's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Belleville Senators. He struggled in the AHL but was recalled on November 18, 2019. He was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs on February 19, 2020, in exchange for Aaron Luchuk and a conditional 6th round draft pick (depending on how many games Véronneau played for the Maple Leafs). He played in just three regular season games with AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies, before the season was abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As a free agent from the Maple Leafs, and with the 2020–21 North American season delayed due to the pandemic, Véronneau opted to sign his first contract abroad in agreeing to a contract for the remainder of the season with Swedish club, IK Oskarshamn of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), on December 21, 2020. In the top Swedish tier, Véronneau regained his offensive confidence, potting 12 goals through 25 regular season games with IK Oskarshamn.

On April 21, 2021, Véronneau opted to transfer to fellow SHL club, Leksands IF, agreeing to a two-year contract. In the following 2021–22 season, he established himself as one of the top offensive players in the SHL, and was signed to a further one-year extension with Leksands through 2024 during the season on November 20, 2021. He completed the season, leading the league with 34 goals through 51 games and was named the SHL's most valuable player.

On April 14, 2022, Véronneau used his NHL out clause to sign a one-year, two-way contract with the San Jose Sharks.

As a pending free agent, Véronneau opted to return to Sweden and resume his contract with Leksands IF of the SHL on May 18, 2023.

Career statistics Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2012–13 Ottawa Canadians EOJHL 58 37 49 86 8 — — — — — 2012–13 Gloucester Rangers CCHL 4 1 2 3 0 — — — — — 2013–14 Gloucester Rangers CCHL 61 41 39 80 10 — — — — — 2014–15 Gloucester Rangers CCHL 27 14 22 36 6 6 3 1 4 0 2015–16 Princeton University ECAC 30 11 6 17 2 — — — — — 2016–17 Princeton University ECAC 33 11 24 35 4 — — — — — 2017–18 Princeton University ECAC 36 17 38 55 12 — — — — — 2018–19 Princeton University ECAC 31 13 24 37 2 — — — — — 2018–19 Ottawa Senators NHL 12 2 2 4 0 — — — — — 2019–20 Belleville Senators AHL 33 5 5 10 2 — — — — — 2019–20 Ottawa Senators NHL 4 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2019–20 Toronto Marlies AHL 3 0 0 0 2 — — — — — 2020–21 IK Oskarshamn SHL 25 12 6 18 8 — — — — — 2021–22 Leksands IF SHL 51 34 26 60 14 — — — — — 2022–23 San Jose Barracuda AHL 31 1 8 9 4 — — — — — 2023–24 Leksands IF SHL 50 17 19 36 6 7 2 2 4 0 2024–25 Leksands IF SHL 51 12 16 28 8 — — — — — NHL totals 16 2 2 4 0 — — — — — SHL totals 177 75 67 142 36 7 2 2 4 0

Awards and honours Award Year College All-ECAC Second All-Star team 2017 All-ECAC First All-Star team 2018 AHCA East All-American team 2018 SHL Guldhjälmen (MVP) 2022Håkan Loob Trophy (Most Goals)2022