Gary Veneruzzo

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 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 seasonPlayoffs 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