Thunder Bay, ON | The Kam River Fighting Walleye are pleased to announce the commitment of 2001-born forward Christian Veneruzzo. The Thunder Bay product played in the NA3HL in 2019-20, where he amassed 52 points in 40 games for the Bozeman Ice Dogs.
“Bringing a player like Christian home is a huge asset to our program,” said Fighting Walleye General Manager Kevin McCallum. “Christian had a tremendous season in Bozeman last year and adding a point a game player to our roster is exciting and will be a huge compliment to the rest of the roster,” said McCallum.
Prior to his stint in the NA3HL, Veneruzzo played 5 seasons in the Thunder Bay Kings AAA program, culminating with a NAPHL U18 championship win in 2018-19. Veneruzzo came up big for the Kings in the Telus Cup Western regionals and the Telus Cup National Championship Tournament, posting 4 goals and 1 assist in total.
Walleye head coach Matt Valley is excited about the opportunity to add Veneruzzo to his roster. “Another huge local talent joining the Walleye family here. Venny is going to obviously bolster our forward group offensively. But what I’m excited for is to watch him compete day in and day out. As a coach it’s such a pleasure to work with people like that,” said Valley. “A player of this caliber and character elevates everyone’s game around him as well,” he added.
Fighting Walleye Assistant GM and Director of Scouting Bryan Smeltzer believes the addition of Veneruzzo is a big step for the club. “Not only does Christian make an impact in the offensive zone, but he is a gritty, positionally sound player on the defensive side of the puck as well. So, we are getting a good two-way forward who is going to help us in a lot of areas. It’s a big add for us,” said Smeltzer.
Welcome to the club, Christian!
You can purchase tickets to watch Veneruzzo and his teammates play the 2020-21 season at shop.fightingwalleye.com. Anyone purchasing in the month of June will be entered into a draw for an authentic, customized Fighting Walleye jersey! The website also features hats, hoodies, t-shirts and more available for purchase!