The Merritt Centennials continue their reload for the 2015-16 BCHL season. The club announced this week that they have signed 19-year-old forward Nick Jermain from Norwalk, Connecticut.

Jermain played this past year for the Junior A Connecticut Oilers of the Eastern Hockey League. In 49 games with the Oilers, the gifted playmaker scored 14 goals and added 35 assists for 49 points.

Prior to his one full season with the Oilers, Jermain played his final two years of high school hockey with the Brunswick Bruins of the USHS, based out of Greenwich, Conn.

“I watched [Nick] online play the last two games of the EHL playoffs,” Cents head coach and GM Joe Martin said. “His team won the finals. He scored a couple of nice goals. His work ethic, his compete and his desire to win shone through. That’s what intrigued me.”

Martin contacted Jermain, discussed the BCHL option with him, and invited him out to the Centennials’ second spring tryout camp in Abbotsford in May.

“I’d never been out to western Canada before,” Jermain said over the phone from his home on the U.S. east coast. “It was nice to see Vancouver and B.C. and get a feel for what it would be like.

“I loved the hockey at the camp. It was very open and offensive, which I really like. I got to play on a line with (current Centennial) Gavin Gould. He was easy to get the puck to.”

“He’s crafty, he possesses a good shot, and I think he can score goals,” Martin said. “At times, he reminds me of (former Centennial) Derek Huisman with his vision. Just a very smart player. A very good package.”

For his part, Jermain is quite knowledgeable about the BCHL, its level of play and overall reputation. His teammates at Brunswick Prep School included forward Stephan Seegar (a trade-deadline acquisition of the Centennials this past January) and defenceman Michael Faulkner (whom the Centennials signed earlier this month for the 2015-16 season).

The Bruins’ captain during one of Jermain’s years with the Brunswick team was Luke Esposito, who went on to have a standout year with the Chilliwack Chiefs in 2012-13, recording 18 goals and 60 assists in 62 games en route to earning a scholarship to prestigious Harvard University.

“I’ve been close with the Espositos for a while,” Jermain said. “They’ve helped me a lot with my hockey. Since Luke, there’s been a lot of guys going out to B.C. and enjoying success. I knew that it would be a good league to go to.”

Similarly, Martin has been impressed with what he’s been seeing come out of the Eastern Hockey League.

“Last year’s BCHL scoring champion, Corey Mackin of the Coquitlam Express, came from the EHL,” the coach said.

“I researched the players in the league, and found a couple in the age group that I was targeting. The one I really liked was Nick. I had good conversations with his former coaches and with college coaches that had seen him play. They all spoke highly of him.”

Asked how his summer was going, and how he was preparing for his first BCHL season, Jermain said, “I’m working out with strength and conditioning coach Ben Prentiss at BodyTuning in Darian, Conn. He has probably 20 NHL guys working out there, including Marty St. Louis (just retired), Jonathan Quick (Los Angeles Kings), Matt Moulsen (Buffalo Sabres) and Max Pacioretty (Montreal Canadiens). It’s cool working out there. You kind of get pushed a little harder.”

Jermain is also managing to find ice time at his former Oilers’ facility.

“They’ve been really nice to me. Even though I’m not returning next year, they’ve allowed me to continue skating there. I’ve been lucky.”

Jermain plans to fly out to San Francisco in mid-August and visit a couple of his older sisters prior to making his way up the west coast to B.C. in time for the start of the Centennials’ main camp on August 22.

“I’m really excited for the upcoming year and the challenge of a new league,” he said.