Zach Bratina, seen here during Sunday's win over the IceDogs, will be wearing the Centennials shoulder patch on his chest Thursday night as the Battalion pay tribute to the Centennials, the night the former franchise, the Saginaw Spirit, comes to town. Photo by Denis Dubois.
Talking to Battalion forward Zach Bratina, you realize how long it really has been since the North Bay Centennials left town.
Bratina played for the former North Bay franchise in Saginaw before being traded to the current North Bay franchise over the Christmas holidays.
“My parents and my uncles and stuff they know more about the Centennials,” said the Battalion forward who will be playing his old team for the first time on Thursday night.
Yes, it has been in a while.
In fact, only 3 former North Bay Centennials are left playing in the National Hockey League.
They are Chris Neil in Ottawa, Paul Bissonette in Phoenix and Chris Thorburn in Winnipeg, while well known former NHLers who wore the Centennials black and gold in the latter years, like goaltender Alex Auld, have already retired from the game.
Some North Bay residents may not even remember what year they left town.
Well, it was the late fall of 2001 when North Bay hockey fans were given notice the team was being sold.
A campaign to save the team found enough ticket holders but not enough money was raised to match the Saginaw price tag, so the OHL officially approved the move in February of 2002.
The rest is history.
It was an emotional time for everyone, the fans, the players, the sponsors and even the owners who sold the team.
“I hope they are not doing it purposely taking the hockey out of the North because I think it such a great development program that they have up here,” said Centennials forward Chris Thorburn at the time.
“I grew up watching them, and I mean the Centennial players were role models to me and I know a lot of kids are going to miss the team and they are going to miss watching the players and saying one day I can get up there one day,” added Centennials captain Robin Boucher in February of 2002, the last Cents captain will in fact drop the puck at the opening ceremony on Thursday night.
But that was the past and while many thought it would never happen, the OHL is in fact alive and well again in North Bay.
Thursday night will bring back a lot of memories for those who remember the Centennials, and for the Zach Bratina’s generation (and younger), it will no doubt show them how much passion there still is for the name “Centennials.”
Below check out this mini-documentary called "CENTS GONE" that aired on RinkratTV in the winter of 2002.
You can also follow our live blog from the game tonight by clicking HERE.
