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Merritt Centennials to leave BCHL after half-century, to join KIJHL for 24/25 season

Paul James
Mar 31, 2024 | 12:54 PM


Merritt Centennials to leave BCHL after half-century, to join KIJHL for 24/25 season

Merritt Centennials logo/via Wikipedia

A major shake up in the world of junior hockey in the Southern Interior.

After more than 50 years as the longest running team in the league, the Merritt Centennials will no longer be part of the BCHL after the end of this year’s playoffs.

“After an in-depth analysis the Merritt Centennials Board of Directors have made the very difficult decision to cease operations at the end of this season and withdraw from the BCHL,” Centennials President Ken Carruthers said in a release put out on Sunday.

“The Board members past and present have worked extremely hard to maintain 51 continuous years of operation in the BCHL but have finally conceded that continuing into the future is no longer viable.”

Speaking with Radio NL, Past President and team spokesperson Kelly Bartch says, in the end, asking the people of Merritt to continue supporting a community-run hockey team wasn’t fair, given that financial pressures became too great.

“Like everyone else, we dealt with COVID. That was a tough thing,” noted Bartch.  “On the heels of that, most communities didn’t have to deal with the flood that we had in 2021, and the changes in the BCHL, where they chose to move to an independent league and leave Hockey Canada. There certainly some added cost to that.”

Despite this, Centennials hockey in Merritt will live on, but within a new league.

The Kootenay International Junior Hockey League has announced Merritt will be joining its ranks next year under private ownership headed by Brad Anstey and Daniel Schofield.

“The Kootenay International Junior Hockey League announced today [Sunday] that an expansion franchise has been awarded to the community of Merritt, BC. The club will continue to be known as the Centennials and will begin play for the 2024/25 season,” said the KIJHL in a release issued on Sunday.

It notes the Centennials will join the Bill Ohlhausen division, taking the place of the Summerland Steam following that franchise’s relocation to Williams Lake.

“The Centennials have a rich history and this year celebrated their 51st consecutive season of continuous junior hockey in the City of Merritt,” said KIJHL commissioner Jeff Dubois. “Brad and Daniel have a great vision for a successful and sustainable KIJHL franchise, and our Board of Governors was thrilled to see the tremendous support that exists within the community for a transition to our league.”

The move by the Centennials follows a decision by the BC Hockey League last summer to cut ties with Hockey Canada in a bid to allow the recruitment of 16 and 17-year old players from across Canada, which isn’t allowed under Hockey Canada rules.

The Centennials will continue to play out of the 1,000 seat Nicola Valley Memorial Arena, with the team’s ownership group having secured a new five-year lease agreement.

“The City of Merritt is very excited to embark on a new journey in the history of the Merritt Centennials hockey club,” said Merritt mayor Michael Goetz as part of the KIJHL release. “The 2024-25 season looks to hold a whole new and exciting team as well as new opponents that we have not seen in the Valley before. We are very pleased to see the Centennials become part of the KIJHL and we have signed a long-term lease to make sure this new brand of hockey stays and grows in Merritt.

The Centennials ownership says further details on season ticket information, spring camp dates and locations, as well as staffing announcements, will be announced in the coming weeks.