With an early pick and a very late pick in the 2021 CHL Import draft, the Swift Current Broncos opted to take a chance on a couple of players in hopes of luring them to the Saskatchewan city.
At fifth overall, the Broncos headed to Germany and grabbed 2004-born defenceman Rayan Bettahar with dual Polish and German citizenship. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Bettahar played in just 10 games, with three different teams in 2020-21.
The 6-foot-2, 207-pound defenseman had one assist in three games with Jungadler Mannheim U20. He also played three games with Germany’s U18 team at the U18 World Championships as well as four other games with the U18 team.
With the 119th overall pick, the Broncos took a shot at 2004-born Russian forward Alexei Shanaurin. He is listed at 6-foot, 172-pounds.
Shanaurin played for two teams in Russia in 2020-21. The Tyumenski Legion U17 squad was his main team last season where he scored 14 goals and added 16 assists in 22 league games. Shanaurin also joined the MHL version of Tyumenshi Legion, where he had one goal and seven assists in 17 games.
