After plenty of speculation as to whether or not Luke Pierce would make a move at the deadline, the answer has been revealed. In a move that was made yesterday and processed today, the Merritt Centennials have brought in 20 year old forward Carter Shinkaruk from the Powell River Kings in exchange for future considerations.
Shinkaruk is a native of Langley who grew up playing major midget hockey for the Valley West Hawks, so this move brings him closer to home, family and friends. Those friends and family will likely make the trip down the coke on a few occasions to watch Carter play.
From all accounts, Shinkaruk is a very good character kid, someone who was well-liked in Powell River, was great in the community, and will be a natural fit in the Centennials locker room. His offensive stats don't jump out at you, with just 8 goals and 13 points through 38 games this season, but last season he had 26 points in 57 games as a 19 year old. So obviously there is more potential there, and Cents fans will look forward to hopefully having Carter realize his potential in a new setting.
Here is what Power River Kings play by play broadcaster Alex Rawnsley had to say about Shinkaruk:
"Carter has been a solid member of the Kings organization for 3 years now, and has been a great addition to the program. Carter has played mainly on the Kings 2nd line this year, and has also killed penalties and been on a powerplay unit recently. He creates well down low and is good along the boards. I'm excited to see what he can do in Merritt, and I'm glad he's heading to a great program and a playoff-bound team."
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| Carter Shinkaruk celebrates his trade to Merritt (only one of his teammates seems happy for him) |
But stats aside, I'm sure the number one thing that attracted Luke Pierce to Carter was his overall experience. He has been a regular in the Powell River lineup for 3 seasons now, and comes with 151 career regular season games under his belt (including 1 game, the only game he played in 08/09 with his hometown Langley Chiefs and scored a goal) and 16 games in a long playoff run to the BCHL finals last year, during which he contributed 3 goals.Shinkaruk automatically becomes the most experienced Centennial on the roster. Silvan Harper (longest serving Centennial) has played 6 more regular season games than Carter, but Shinkaruk's 16 playoff games gives him 167 total to Harper's 165 total. The playoff experience of going to the BCHL Championship is obviously invaluable, and no other Centennial can claim that they know what that feels like or what it takes to get there.
Here's the statement from Powell River Kings head coach and general manager Kent Lewis:
“Carter has been a great kid for our program. We are in a position where we had to make some adjustments and it effected our 20 year-olds. Carter will be going to a quality program in Merritt and we wish him nothing but the best. We thank Carter to his dedication and loyalty to the Powell River Kings while he was here.”
Now Carter wore number 14 with Powell River, which is currently the number owned by Brandon Bruce, so it appears that he will wear Jeff Jones old number 11. Shinkaruk will replace a departing Centennial, who has yet to be named. The Cents are currently sitting with 22 roster players and are only allowed 21, so somebody has to come off the roster, and we'll have to wait and see who that is. It will be interesting to see where coach Luke Pierce slots Shinkaruk into the lineup. It's hard to see anybody in the top 6 come out, but it's also hard to envision a 20 year old forward playing on the 3rd or 4th line. Though that's what Blaine Bokenfohr did last year for Merritt, and he turned out to be a great addition. I guess much of it will depend on who is leaving the Centennials roster to free up space for Shinkaruk.
Keep in mind that the deadline is 6pm tonight, and the Centennials now have five 20-year olds on the roster, so are still able to add one more (though it would require another subtraction as well) to help them make a run come playoff time. We'll keep you up to date.
I'm out of the city right now, but will try and get coach Luke Pierce and Carter Shinkaruk before the game vs Vernon on Friday, and will post that audio on my blog as soon as I get the chance.
***I just received confirmation that Carter Shinkaruk will arrive in Merritt tomorrow (Wednesday) and he will be in the lineup on Friday, wearing number 11 for the Centennials.
In the meantime, feel free to post your own thoughts and reaction on this deal underneath...
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