A 20 year old blueliner from Olds will have the chance to play for the Alberta Junior Hockey League’s Inter Pipeline Cup.
Kyle Venneman and the Whitecourt Wolverines continue their quest for an AJHL championship when the league final starts this weekend.
He broke into the AJHL with his hometown Grizzlys and had played the first 118 regular season games of his career for Olds before being traded to Whitecourt last November. The journey has resulted in a chance for Venneman and the Wolverines to host the Calgary Canucks for Game 1 of the best of seven AJHL Finals on Friday, April 12th at JDA Place at 7pm.
He breaks down the championship series match up with the Calgary Canucks.
The Canucks did not trail in their respective series at any point during their playoff wins over Grande Prairie in Round 1 and Drumheller in Round 2, while the Wolverines knocked out Camrose in 5 games in Round 1 before needed to go the distance to a win a 7th and deciding game in Round 2 over Canmore. Venneman believes their Game 7 experience will prove to be a valuable asset in the AJHL Finals.
After Game 1 on Friday in Whitecourt, the Wolverines will also host Game 2 on Saturday before the series shifts to Calgary for Games 3 and 4 next week.
This is the first time in his AJHL career that Venneman has played playoff games. He has contributed 2 goals and 1 assists through 11 postseason games so far for the Wolverines. Venneman has received plenty of support during this year’s playoff run.
During the regular season, Whitecourt and Calgary split their four game series with the home team winning all four contests.
This is the 13th time the Canucks have made it to the league finals, but it is their first appearance in the championship series since 1999. Calgary has won 9 league titles.
Whitecourt has only been to the league finals once. The Wolverines lost to the Brooks Bandits in the championship series in 2017.