BCHL Today: Bucks bring on Stuart as assistant coach, Vipers ink Mercer from CSSHL, and more

Bucks add Stuart to coaching staff

The Cranbrook Bucks have added an assistant coach to aid general manager and head coach Ryan Donald. Joining the Bucks for their inaugural season is 31-year-old Adam Stuart (five goals, nine assists in 45 games with Quesnel in 2008-09), who signed a two year contract in Cranbrook.

Stuart spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach with the Edge School U18 Prep team in the Canadian Sport School Hockey League. He is the younger brother of Derek Stuart, who is the GM and head coach of the junior B Kimberley Dynamiters.

Vipers ink forward Mercer

The Vernon Vipers have signed 2000-born forward Ethan Mercer for the upcoming season. Mercer, who’s from Slave Lake, Alberta, had 17 goals and 14 assists in 36 games for the Northern Alberta X-Treme U18 Prep team in the CSSHL in 2019-20.

Mercer was a teammate of fellows Vipers rookie forward Logan Lorenz at Northern Alberta this past season.

Clippers send Merriman’s rights to OJHL

Details on this week’s trade between Nanaimo and the Ontario Junior Hockey League’s Brantford Jr. 99ers were made public on Friday.

To complete the trade, Nanaimo also sends the Canadian Junior Hockey League rights to 2000-born forward MacKenzie Merriman to the 99ers as well asĀ future considerations for 2001-born defenseman Michael Palandra.

Merriman is committed to attend Princeton University this fall. He has spent the last two seasons with the Clippers after skating with Surrey in 2017-18. In his three year BCHL career, Merriman had 24 goals and 22 assists in 143 games.