Josh Baker was just a hair away from making the Swift Current Broncos this season.

He played six pre-season games and wasn't re-assigned until early October.

Now as injuries pile up for the Broncos he will finally be able to suit up in his first regular season WHL game tonight as Swift Current hosts Calgary.

"I'm excited," Baker said. "It's nice to see all the guys and get a few games under my belt in the regular season. I'm looking forward to it."

Click here for the full interview with Josh Baker

Having been in Swift Current for over two months throughout training camp and pre-season he should be able to join the Broncos without a significant learning curve.

"It's nice to know all the guys and be comfortable coming in," Baker noted. "There's not much to get used to here. Knowing all the systems is nice. Just a couple things have changed. It should be a lot easier to pick that up."

Baker has 5 goals and 2 assists in 5 games of Midget AAA for OHA Edmonton so far this season. He was their captain last season with 32 goals and 14 assists in 36 games.

Now the 17-year-old is wanting to make an impression in Swift Current.

"I would just like to work my hardest," Baker said. "Play a simple game, play my game and hopefully leave a lasting impression on the coaches. Just do the little things."

With key players like Glenn Gawdin, Conner Chaulk, Riley Stotts and Matthew Stanley out of the lineup the Broncos saw Kaden Elder knocked out of their 5-4 overtime loss to Edmonton. Whether he is back in tonight or not they are going to have to find a way to carry on with a chunk taken out of their depth.

"We've had four lines going for most of the year," said Broncos Associate Coach Ryan Smith. "It always hurts to lose your players but it's the reality of hockey. You have to take one game at a time and you can't jump ahead in this... we'll work with the guys we have here... nobody's coming through the door a miracle five guys that are going to save the team. You've got to work with what you've got here which we feel very comfortable with and play to our strengths."

Tonight's game is the start of a home-and-home with the Calgary Hitmen. Calgary is 5-5-1-0 this season having only played 11 times compared to 17 for the 9-5-2-1 Broncos.

"They're a good team," Smith said. "They're physical. They've got two or three lines who can score. They have been playing well and played a hard game against PG on the weekend. The first game is here and we've got to hold serve, establish our game and maybe get a couple goals. We haven't been scoring a lot until the third (against Edmonton) popping a couple early would good to start that home-and-home."

The Broncos will be looking to guys like Tyler Steenbergen and Artyom Minulin to pick up where they left off after 3 point nighths in that game against the Oil Kings on Wednesday.

For Baker the trip to Calgary on Saturday means getting a chance to play closer to his Edmonton home.

"It's pretty exciting my parents will be able to come down,"  Baker said. "It's always nice to be able to play in front of familiar faces."

You can hear tonight's game live on The Eagle 94.1 FM with Robertson Family Group Swift Current Broncos Hockey at 6:30pm. Puck drop is just after 7pm from the Credit Union iPlex.