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Congratulations to the Merritt Centennials New Head Coach and GM Joe Martin

MERRITT, British Columbia (May 29th, 2015) – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – BCHL Merritt Centennials Board of Directors are very pleased to announce the new Head Coach and General Manger of the BCHL Merritt Centennials is our very own former Assistant Coach, Joe Martin.

Neil Menard, President of the Merritt Centennials released this statement earlier today;

“On behalf of the entire organization, we would like to officially congratulate former Assistant Coach Joe Martin as the new Head Coach and General Manager of the BCHL Merritt Centennials. We feel confident that Joe is, without a doubt, the right fit for the job, and we are really looking forward to having him head up the team. Joe has been a loyal employee of the Centennials for the last 4 years, and his familiarity with the team, extraordinary talent and coaching ability, combined with his unwavering dedication to the entire organization and community, made moving him in to this position an obvious decision on our part.” 

Newly appointed Head Coach Joe Martin had this statement this morning:

“I feel very fortunate to be hired in this role, the Centennials are a nation-wide recognized BCHL franchise and I'm lucky to be named the new Head Coach/GM.  It’s a position I feel ready for and look forward to the new challenges that will be presented to me.  I owe a lot to Luke Pierce and the four year's we spent together, under Luke's direction the Centennials established a great reputation and have always performed well, I've learned a lot and hope to continue that trend.
 
I'd like to thank the Merritt Centennials Board of Directors for their vote of confidence in me, and especially thank Brian Barret and Luke Pierce for the guidance over the four year period I spent here as an Assistant Coach. It's a busy time of year with the BCHL AGM, the Centennials AGM, and a prospects camp in two weeks in Abbotsford, but I've been fully immersed in the job for four years now and look to continue the great reputation the Centennials have.”

In a statement released by outgoing Head Coach Luke Pierce, Pierce had this to say about Martin’s promotion:

“There has never been a doubt in my mind that Joe would be the next Head Coach of this franchise. He is an outstanding Coach and a great person. He has been an equal part in our success over the past 4 years and is more than prepared to take this step. I will miss working with him, but will be excited to see him take this team to another level and I know the players, fans and community are in great hands with him at the helm.”
 
Martin has been the Assistant Coach for the Merritt Centennials for the last 4 years, and has done exceptional things for the club both on and off the ice. Prior to that, Martin had been the Head Coach and General Manager of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League’s Creston Valley Thundercats for four years. Coach Martin guided the team to one regular season division title, two first-round playoff series wins, and helped graduate numerous players onto Junior "A" and college hockey while producing a regular season record of 112-68-3-2. He was also named Eddie Mountain Division Coach of the Year for 2010-11 and coach the 2008 KIJHL Top Prospects team.

For any further inquiries on this media release, please contact Marketing Communications Manager Meagan King via email [email protected], office 250-378-3604 or via cell phone at 604-614-5195.