For the second year in a row, a Merritt Centennials player has caught the attention of the National Hockey League’s Central Scouting.

Seventeen-year-old Cents rookie Dane Birks is one of 14 BCHL players on the NHL Central Scouting’s official nation-wide watch list of draft-eligible junior A players that was released on Nov. 20.

Last season, it was the Centennials’ Reece Willcox who made the NHL watch list in his second season with Merritt. The Surrey native went on to be drafted in the 5th round, 141st overall, by the Philadelphia Flyers. Willcox is currently attending Cornell University on an NCAA Division 1 scholarship.

Birks, who was born and raised in the Nicola Valley, was caught by surprise by the Central Scouting announcement.

“It was [Cents captain] Brent Fletcher who told me at the gym a few days ago, and congratulated me,” Birks said. “I had filled out a Central Scouting form a while back, and I did talk to a few NHL scouts on Parents Weekend [Oct. 19-21]. I was aware of the watch list, but wasn’t expecting to be on it.”

The month of November has been busy for Birks. The Merritt Secondary School Grade 12 student was in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, on Nov. 10-11, taking part in the Canadian Junior Hockey League’s Top Prospects game. His Canada West team defeated their eastern counterpart 8-6 in their two-game, total-goals series.

“[The Prospects game] was a great experience all around,” said Birks, who has committed to play at Michigan Tech starting in the 2014-15 season.