(Photo courtesy/Broad Leaf Media, Facebook)

By Ben Tompkins

Huge Loss

Venne leaving Mustangs for BCHL

Jul 15, 2024 | 9:00 AM

One of, if not the best goalie in Melfort Mustangs history, won’t be returning to the team next season.

According to Sherwood Park Crusaders’ social media pages, James Venne is heading to the British Columbia Hockey League.

Venne, a product of Saskatoon, spent three full seasons with Melfort, most notably taking them all the way to the National Final, earlier this year.

In 130 SJHL games, playoffs included, Venne amassed a 77-29-12 record with seven shutouts.

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His 130 games played and 77 wins are all-time Mustang records, along with his 7453 minutes of time-on-ice and 3350 saves. His seven regular season shutouts are also tied for the franchise record and are just two short of the combined regular season/playoff record.

During his tenure, he posted an outstanding 1.99 goals-against-average and a .910 save percentage.

The 20-year-old will be entering his final year of Junior A eligibility, joining a Sherwood Park Crusaders team that defected from the Alberta Junior Hockey League, along with four other teams, back in January.

Venne was both a Goaltender of the Year and MVP finalist in the SJHL, this past season.

During his five games played at the Centennial Cup in Oakville, back in May, the 2004-born netminder went 4 and 1 with a 2.18 goals-against-average and a .922 save percentage.

His best performance may have actually come in the one loss (against the Collingwood Blues in the Cup Final) only giving up a single goal on 36 shots, which was a deflected point shot on the powerplay.

This is the second year in a row that the Stangs have lost one of their key pieces to the BCHL.

Prior to last season, reigning Rookie of the Year winner (the club’s only in franchise history), Riley Ashe, committed to the Salmon Arm Silverbacks.

Because the BCHL is no longer part of Hockey Canada, they can poach players from any league in the country, without having to give any sort of compensation in return.

As of right now, it seems as though Kristian Coombs, who will be entering his second year in the SJHL, will be the Blue and Green’s new starting goaltender.

He suited up in 13 regular season games this past season, registering a 6 and 4 record with a 3.28 goals-against-average and a .885 save percentage.

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Ben.Tompkins@pattisonmedia.com

On X @BenTompkins_8