The Merritt Centennials are set to host their first camp of the off-season this weekend at the Rinks at the Summit Centre in Abbotsford.
The Cents had to cancel their Spring Camp slated for Merritt in early April and postpone their Summer Camp scheduled for early June in Abbotsford before the province lifted restrictions to make a hockey camp a possibility. The camp is forced to be held a little differently in the face of the pandemic. The province’s return to play task force VIA Sport still has not cleared contact so the typical form of scrimmages will not be able to happen. Instead, Head Coach Derek Sweet-Coulter and staff will have to create drills and get creative to get the most out of potential recruits.
Among the hopefuls will be some of the new faces that were committed to or traded for throughout the off-season including: Chris Fortems, Alek Erichuk, Jacob ‘Cubby’ Myers, and Zack Dallazanna. It will be the Centennials staff first chance to see the new skill in person and up close.
Head Coach and General Manager Derek Sweet-Coulter says he’s excited to be back on the ice and see some talent in person.
“Hockey connects us all and it will be great to be back at the rink to see some familiar faces and also to begin those new relationships in person. The zoom calls and video sessions we have conducted as a staff to get to this point has prepared us for this ID camp. We are excited about the possibilities that could come from this weekend and look forward to evaluating all the prospects.”
The Centennials camp will start tonight with a goaltending session before wrapping up on Sunday afternoon.
