He played junior hockey in the Thunder Bay League with the Fort William Canadiens and Port Arthur North Stars from 1959 to 1963 and also played for the senior Fort William Beavers. The Toronto Maple Leafs owned his NHL rights and he played in the Leafs' minor system from 1964 to 1967 when he was claimed by the St. Louis Blues in the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft. Venruzzo played 5 games for the Blues in 1967-68 and then 2 more in 1971-72 but spent the rest of his time in the minors until 1972. In that year he jumped to the Los Angeles Sharks of the World Hockey Association.