Chicago connections helping bolster Centennials line-up ahead of new season

MERRITT, B.C. — The Merritt Centennials had a tough go in the Chilliwack pod this spring. Only three wins in 20 games.

At the same time, the Centennials were at a severe disadvantage, having to bus back and forth to Merritt for each game.

“It’s kind of sad. They’re the one team, for whatever reason, that got excluded from staying down in the hub and being in a hotel,” said new Cents’ head coach Dave Chyzowski. “They never had practices, they bused back and forth for every game. They bused 22 days out of 35 days in a row, back and forth with zero practices. I’m a huge practice guy. I don’t know how you could’ve done that.”

Regardless, the Centennials needed a culture change and Chyzowski, former Blazers player and employee, is trying to do just that, going back to the basics with the players.

He’s been busy recruiting this offseason. Chyzowski, a former Blackhawk for eight games during the 1996-97 season, has used his Chicago connections to recruit a couple players, including Will Bowman, the son of current GM Stan Bowman.

“He’s been an absolute gem of a hockey player. He’s the type of kid that plays a little bit old school,” noted Chyzowski. “He’s a D-man that plays stick on puck and is tremendous at it. His foot speed needs to improve and he knows that and he works hard at it every day. His hockey sense, his maturity and his composure and the ability to calm things down on the ice has been tremendous for us. He’s a young 19 year old that’s made a difference for us already.”

The Centennials have another Chicago native on the roster, Anton Sorensen. Both should make Merritt a lot better this year. Chyzowski is trying to instill a winning culture in the Nicola Valley.

“Our goal as a hockey team has to be to make the playoffs,” exclaimed Chyzowski. “The top eight teams in each division make the playoffs. What I want to do is I’d love to be able to try and create an environment for the kids to have home-ice advantage because our rink [Nicola Valley Arena] is very different than a lot of teams, and I want to be able to create a culture where the kids take so much pride in playing at home in this rink.”

He’s also trying to get these kids to the next level and helped them achieve their hockey dreams — whether it’s Division I in the States or pro hockey.

“The biggest thing that I find for kids is they don’t understand the next level and the jump and the demand, the pressure, the more dedication that’s going to be needed to get to that next level,” said Chyzowski. “And to be quite frank, you have to be hard on them and instill some discipline because if they want to go play at the University of Denver, they want to go play at the University of Wisconsin, it’s a professional job going to the rink every day.”

The Centennials have their home-opener Friday night against Prince George. They’re also at the Nicola Valley Arena on Saturday night against Salmon Arm.