By Colin Oswin – Merritt Herald
Aug 15 2007
The Merritt Centennials made another big trade last week, acquiring three players from the Surrey Eagles.
The Cents traded off-season acquisition Max Grassi in exchange for Surrey defensemen Brandon Clark and Eliot Raibl and forward Scott Jow. Coach and general manager Al Glendinning has high hopes for Jow this season. He says the all-star forward will bring a big physical presence and a scoring touch to the Centennials.
?He?ll bring a lot of leadership to the room as well,? he says. ?He wants to get it done in his last year.?
Jow, a 20-year-old from Surrey, was a Coastal Conference all-star last season for the Eagles. The 5-foot-10, 180 lb. forward had 19 goals and 27 assists last season, his fourth year in the BCHL. He has 94 career points in 235 BCHL games.
Glendinning went into the trade looking to fill depth on defense. He says Clark and Raibl are both solid D-men who will log plenty of minutes.
?They can both see the ice past the puck well,? he says. ?And they?re big, physical guys.?
With many Coastal teams after Grassi, Glendinning looked for deals that would bring quality D-men to the team.
?We managed to do that, as well as get a tremendous kid like Jow,? he says. ?So we were very fortunate.?
Clark, an 18-year-old from Spokane, Wash., had eight goals and 10 assists with the Eagles last season. The 6-foot, 185 lb. defenceman has 32 points in 118 career BCHL games.
Raibl, an 18 year old from Vancouver, had 14 assists last season with Surrey. The 6-foot, 180 lb. blue liner is entering his second full season in the BCHL.
The Centennials received Grassi last month in a trade with the Nanaimo Clippers. He never played a game for Merritt.
