The Merritt Centennials are pleased to announce two new additions to their bench staff: Levi Stuart and Jason Purpur.
Stuart will join Head Coach and GM Derek Sweet-Coulter as an Assistant Coach. Stuart has worked primarily as a video coach since 2011 with the Vancouver Giants of the WHL, the Vernon Vipers, and the Centennials last season. He has also been serving as an amateur scout for the Centennials.
Coach Sweet-Coulter says that he’s excited to officially add Stuart to the staff.
“In his role as video coach last season Levi Brought professionalism, passion, energy, and a tireless work ethic to our group. He works extremely hard day to day and invests in building relationships with our players. Our players know he is a genuine person who cares about them and wants to help them reach their goals. Levi has earned the opportunity to join our staff as our full time assistant coach and I look forward to working with him on a daily basis.”
Purpur joins the staff as the teams new Athletic Therapist. The Kamloops native worked with his hometown Blazers during the 2019-20 season, but before that was the Assistant Athletic Therapist with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League. Purpur also served as a Medical Liaison for the Winnipeg Jets during the NHL Heritage Classic in 2019.
Director of Hockey Operations John Stuart says adding a person of Purpur’s caliber to the team will help improve player support across the board.
In addition to the new hires, the Cents will also have Merritt locals Paul Barnes and Zach Wright return behind the bench for the 2020-21 season as Assistant Coaches.
