Venture continues hockey career at Alabama

Jonathan Venture initially wasn’t looking to play hockey after high school. And when most graduates do, they often don’t look at Alabama.

But fate had other plans, and after Venture, who was a three-year letterwinner for the Talbots, enrolled, he saw there was a chance to try out.

“It was cool,” said Venture, who made the Division III club team and plays forward. “I never thought I’d be playing college hockey, and it ended up happening. Pretty cool for sure.”

At first, though, Venture migrated south for the same reason as many adults: climate.

“I kind of got sick of the cold weather up north,” Venture said. “There’s a lot to like about Alabama. It’s a beautiful campus. All the buildings are brand new. The football team is awesome, and Greek life is one of the best in the country.

“We have kids from all over the place. We even have a few kids from Alabama on the team. I didn’t expect hockey to be that popular down here, but I guess Huntsville has a good team.”

Venture has loved hockey since he put on skates at a friend’s birthday party at Ice Connection, now the Frozen Pond Arena in Valencia.

“I wasn’t really good at it, but I really enjoyed it,” he said. “So I told my dad I wanted to play. I was still very young, and there were people ahead of me. My first year of amateur hockey was my first year of pee wee.”

Venture earned varsity playing time early in his career as a productive forward for Hampton.

“Every year, it was just a close-knit group,” he said, remembering his time as a Talbot. “We were constantly with each other, all friends on and off the ice. Once I played varsity my sophomore year, I couldn’t wait to practice and go in games. It was just a blast. I loved Hampton hockey. Senior year was awesome having (Luke) Leya as a coach for sure.”

It’s not Division I hockey but still a physical and fast game. Venture plays the wing positions and is earning more playing time as the season progresses. The Crimson Tide stood at 7-6 before the break.

Venture has other ambitions outside hockey. He went to Alabama to get a degree in finance. He doesn’t plan on staying south forever and eventually wants a career in New York, preferably on Wall Street.

“Throughout high school, I started taking business classes, took accounting. I just started doing stuff with the stock market, investing a little money here and there. Ever since then, I’ve felt pretty passionate toward it.”

Academics could get in the way of finishing his hockey career at Alabama, but Venture is comfortable where he’s at right now.

“Four years might be a lot because of academics and other things that come into play. But while I can still play, I’m going to play.”