Trade completed between the Boston Bruins and Vancouver Canucks organization

The Mariners announced Wednesday they acquired Venuto from Kalamazoo, completing an earlier future-considerations transaction between the clubs. Maine is the ECHL affiliate of the Boston Bruins, while Kalamazoo is aligned with the Vancouver Canucks.

Venuto is 25 and in his first full pro season, and the early production is legit. He currently has 14 points in 22 games, with five goals and nine assists.

That stat line matters because it signals this is not just a paperwork swap, it is a scoring add.

The college track is the other reason this feels targeted. Venuto finished at Merrimack last spring, and before that he spent four seasons at Ferris State, where he led the Bulldogs in 2023-24 scoring with 26 points in 36 games.

As a Bruins fan, I love when the pipeline adds a young pro who can actually create, not just fill a jersey.

The Mariners also pointed out a neat connection, Venuto was a teammate of Mitch Deelstra at Ferris State for three seasons. Those built-in relationships can matter in the ECHL, where line chemistry changes fast.

This trade also closes the loop on an older move. Maine said it «completes» the October 2, 2025 transaction that sent the rights to forward Colin Bilek from the Mariners to the Wings for future considerations.

Bilek's name is worth remembering because Kalamazoo billed him as a power-play driver, noting he had eight power-play goals and 52 points last season in Indy.

Now Maine gets its return in the form of a right-now forward who can score and slide into a top-six look. The next milestone is simple, see if Venuto's touch follows him to Reading this weekend, then watch whether Providence starts peeking down the line.

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