The Merritt Centennials added another player to their roster late last week. Eighteen-year-old defenceman Cole Arcuri was acquired from the Powell River Kings in exchange for future considerations.
Arcuri, a native of Nelson, played parts of two seasons with his hometown Nelson Leafs of the KIJHL before finishing his 2013-14 campaign with the BCHL’s Kings.
In 77 regular season games with Nelson, Arcuri netted eight goals and added 31 assists for 39 points. In 36 combined regular season and playoff games with Powell River, he had eight points (two goals, six assists).
The addition of Arcuri to the Cents’ 22-man roster was made possible by the fact that Merritt has two players on the long-term injury reserve list — forwards Adam Tracey and Braden Fuller.
The six-foot-one-inch, 189-pound Arcuri was scheduled to play in Sunday’s game against Victoria. He took the warm-up, but was scratched shortly afterwards and replaced by Tyrell Buckley.
“We had a carding error that we had to deal with,” Cents head coach and GM Luke Pierce said.
“We didn’t want to play him and then have that affect the outcome of the game. You can be fined or even forfeit the points if you use an ineligible player. Naturally, Cole was disappointed, but this way he’ll have a full week of practice to settle in and get comfortable with his new teammates.
“We see Cole as a real solid addition to our club,” Pierce said. “With the number of injuries we’ve experienced already this year, it was important that we have depth at that position. I think Cole can be an impact player who can add some speed and offence to our backend.”
Arcuri is delighted to be playing in Merritt as it puts him that much closer to family in friends in the Kootenays.
