Gary Veneruzzo

Gary Veneruzzo
Born	(1943-06-28) June 28, 1943 Fort William, Ontario, Canada
Height	5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Weight	165 lb (75 kg; 11 st 11 lb)
Position	Left Wing
Shot	Left
Played for	St. Louis Blues Los Angeles Sharks Michigan Stags/Baltimore Blades Cincinnati Stingers Phoenix Roadrunners San Diego Mariners
Playing career	1962–1977

Gary Raymond Veneruzzo (born June 28, 1943) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played seven games in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the St. Louis Blues during the 1967–68 and 1971–72 seasons, and 348 games in the World Hockey Association (WHA) with the Los Angeles Sharks, Michigan Stags/Baltimore Blades, Cincinnati Stingers, Phoenix Roadrunners, and San Diego Mariners from 1972 to 1977. Veneruzzo was born in Fort William, Ontario.

Playing career

Veneruzzo was a minor league player playing in the Toronto Maple Leafs system for the Tulsa Oilers in the Central Professional Hockey League when the NHL expanded in 1967. He was the selected in the 19th round of the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft by the St. Louis Blues. Veneruzzo initially did not make the NHL roster and was farmed out to their affiliate in the Central Professional League, the Kansas City Blues, where he led the team in scoring - and earned a brief call up to the NHL team. He scored a goal and an assist in five NHL regular appearances and appeared in nine Stanley Cup games, where he was credited with two assists. The following two years Veneruzzo was in the minors despite having decent statistics. He was called up in 1972 for two games with the Blues where he was held scoreless.

Veneruzzo jumped to the WHA for its inaugural season in 1972-73, signing with the Los Angeles Sharks. He led the Sharks in scoring that season with 43 goals and 30 assists, and the following year was second on the team, behind Marc Tardif with 39 goals and 29 assists. The Sharks moved to Michigan in 1974 and then midway through the season to Baltimore, and Veneruzzo again led the team in scoring with 33 goals and 27 assists. He started the following year with the Cincinnati Stingers before being traded to Phoenix. Veneruzzo played one more year in the WHA, closing his career with the San Diego Mariners in 1976-77.

Altogether Veneruzzo ranked 56th overall in all time scoring in the WHA, having played 348 games in the WHA scoring 151 goals, 123 assists and 274 points coupled with 212 penalty minutes in regular season games, and five goals, no assists and 11 penalty minutes in 18 playoff appearances.

He was inducted into the Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 2000.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1959–60	Fort William Canadiens	TBJHL		—	—	—	—	—		—	—	—	—	—
1959–60	Fort William Canadiens	M-Cup		—	—	—	—	—		2	0	0	0	0
1960–61	Fort William Canadiens	TBJHL		24	6	13	19	18		4	0	6	6	11
1960–61	Fort William Canadiens	M-Cup		—	—	—	—	—		7	1	5	6	2
1961–62	Fort William Canadiens	TBJHL		30	30	31	61	76		—	—	—	—	—
1961–62	Port Arthur North Stars	M-Cup		—	—	—	—	—		4	2	3	5	6
1962–63	Fort William Beavers	TBSHL		26	27	20	47	27		14	11	15	26	25
1962–63	Fort William Canadiens	M-Cup		—	—	—	—	—		10	8	10	18	19
1963–64	Fort William Beavers	TBSHL		30	26	35	61	35		10	7	6	13	4
1964–65	Tulsa Oilers	CHL		60	11	17	28	29		10	1	4	5	8
1965–66	Tulsa Oilers	CHL		69	19	19	38	25		11	1	7	8	5
1966–67	Tulsa Oilers	CHL		59	21	25	46	38		—	—	—	—	—
1966–67	Victoria Maple Leafs	WHL		11	3	5	8	2		—	—	—	—	—
1967–68	St. Louis Blues	NHL		5	1	1	2	0		9	0	2	2	2
1967–68	Kansas City Blues	CHL		63	24	51	75	36		7	4	2	6	10
1968–69	Kansas City Blues	CHL		71	38	40	78	38		4	1	1	2	13
1969–70	Kansas City Blues	CHL		52	20	30	50	33		—	—	—	—	—
1969–70	Buffalo Bisons	AHL		21	8	11	19	2		14	6	5	11	9
1970–71	Kansas City Blues	CHL		2	2	0	2	2		—	—	—	—	—
1970–71	Seattle Totems	WHL		66	27	22	49	30		—	—	—	—	—
1971–72	St. Louis Blues	NHL		2	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
1971–72	Denver Spurs	WHL		72	41	45	86	41		9	2	6	8	10
1972–73	Los Angeles Sharks	WHA		78	43	30	73	34		6	3	0	3	4
1973–74	Los Angeles Sharks	WHA		78	39	29	68	68		—	—	—	—	—
1974–75	Michigan Stags/Baltimore Blades	WHA		77	33	27	60	57		—	—	—	—	—
1975–76	Cincinnati Stingers	WHA		14	3	2	5	8		—	—	—	—	—
1975–76	Phoenix Roadrunners	WHA		61	19	24	43	27		5	2	0	2	7
1976–77	San Diego Mariners	WHA		40	14	11	25	18		7	0	0	0	0
1977–78	Thunder Bay Twins	OHA Sr		14	2	4	6	20		—	—	—	—	—
1978–79	Thunder Bay Twins	OHA Sr		40	22	25	47	—		—	—	—	—	—
WHA totals				348	151	123	274	212		18	5	0	5	11
NHL totals				7	1	1	2	0		9	0	2	2	2

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database