2017-18 season previews: Swift Current Broncos

(In our ongoing season preview series, we now present to you the Swift Current Broncos)

Swift Current Broncos: (2016-17 regular season: 39-23-4-6 88 points, lost in the East Division Final to the Regina Pats in 7 games)

Playing in what many expect to be the toughest division in the WHL this season, the Swift Current Broncos will look to piece together another contender. They will do so without the return of forwards: Ryley Lindgren (Aged out, Mount Royal University), Ryan Graham (aged out-University of Calgary) and goaltender Jordan Papirny (Aged out, University of Calgary). Also out is goalie Bailey Brkin (’99) who was dealt to Kootenay for forward Max Patterson (99). 1997 born Lane Pederson has signed a contract to play with the Arizona Coyotes organziation and should be playing with Tucson in the AHL. Also Max Lajoie (97) has signed with Ottawa and will likely play in the AHL with Binghamton. Neither are expected back in Swift Current this season but don’t count out their return 100 percent.

Swift Current has one of the largest contingents of ’97 born players still remaining on the roster as of today. Goaltender Taz Burman is joined by forwards Arthur Miller, Brandan Arnold, Conner Chaulk and Glenn Gawdin. It is expected that Burman is going to take one spot and Glenn Gawdin another when he returns from Calgary Flames training camp. The other three forwards will be battling it out for the final spot. 23-point man Conner Chaulk looks to have the inside track. It is possible that the Broncos could see Pederson and Lajoie back in the fold should things not work out in the AHL, but that remains to be seen and that possibility will cause a very murky overage situation.

Logan Barlage (’01) will be given a long look as a 16-year-old for the Broncos this season.  As the fourth overall pick in the 2016 WHL Bantam Draft, Barlage will be expected to be a key contributor for the team for years to come. Expect to see him playing more and more important minutes as the season wears on.  Riley Stotts put up nine goals and seven assists as a rookie in Swift Current last year. He is another former first round pick and the Broncos would like to see him take the next step on his journey. Defenseman Sahvan Khaira played well in the playoffs last year and will be asked to take on a bigger role, as will Dom Schmiemann. Both could step into a top four defenseman role this year.

photo courtesy Darwin Knelsen

There was a time when there was some worry regarding Aleksi Heponiemi returning to the Broncos for the 2017-18 season. He has returned to North America and will be joined by fellow import Artyom Minulin. Minulin enters his third season as a Bronco and will look to improve on his 50 points which was good for 14th among all WHL defensemen.

Swift Current is blessed with six of seven defensemen returning to the team and the seventh (King) having been with the team at the beginning and the end of the year. This will be a strength for them in 2017-18. A few questions surround the team, including whether or not Taz Burman is ready to be the full time starter as a 20-year-old. The East division is chock full of teams with a bonafide number-one starter and the Broncos are hoping Burman can join these ranks. Also, beyond Heponiemi, Gawdin and Steenbergen, where are the goals going to come from? There is not a lot of proven secondary scoring on this team and that is at a premium in the WHL. Players like Kaden Elder, Kole Gable, and the newly acquired Max Patterson (from Kootenay) will need to provide as much as possible for the Broncos to have success this year. Also seeing second-year players making strides will be huge for this team.

Head coach Manny Viveros is in his second year with the team so there should be less of a learning curve for the players who are returning. That should also translate to the rookies that make it through the final weeks before the players away at NHL camps return. This will also mean that some players will have a shorter leash, so to speak, and we may see some moves being made to bring in that secondary scoring or a proven goaltender to compete with the other teams in the East Division.

Away at NHL camps to start the season are Lane Pederson (ARI), Glenn Gawdin (CGY), Tyler Steenbergen (ARI), Artyom Minulin (MIN – returned), Aleksi Heponiemi (FLA), Sahvan Khaira (EDM – returned) and Max Lajoie (OTT).