The Merritt Centennials have refined their leadership group under Head Coach Derek Sweet-Coulter.
Remaining as Captain will be 4th year Centennials forward Rylan Van Unen, but instead of 6 assistants split between home and away the team will have 3 permanent assistants.
All three Assistants were previously named, and will continue to serve the team in a leading role. 3rd year defender Joey Berkopec will be the lone voice from the defensive side, while 2nd year Cents Brett Roloson, and Payton Matsui will represent the forwards.
Head Coach Derek Sweet-Coulter says that the players chosen all have one thing in common – BCHL experience.
“These individuals are BCHL veterans that understand the game and what it takes to win at this level. This team had a lot of success last year and they were a part of that process and learn from that leadership group, that experience is incredibly valuable in this league. Each one of these players that have been chosen to lead our group are also great people and will be tasked in representing our culture that will be based on Humility, Integrity, and Courage. We want to be living our culture every day and representing those words proudly to be the best version of ourselves that we can possibly be. This culture is about building men for the future and for others. We want our team to be great citizens who are servant leaders in our community now and when they move on from our program. We want them to take those values with them on their journey into adulthood and serve their communities the right way like they have learned here. Being a leader for this teams means a lot more than just on the ice and these individuals know that and are up for the challenge.”
Along with the core message of Humilty, Integrity, and Courage the Cents have also chosen some other key words that are in their locker room: Family, Trust, Heart, Accountability, Brotherhood, and Believe.
The team word of the year is Trust.
The team plans on announcing a vision and mission statement next week.
