On the cusp of a new NHL season beginning on January 13, 2020, the Swift Current Broncos have released a statement wishing good luck to the 12 team Alumni that will be lacing up.

Swift Current is no stranger to NHL level talent, and the Broncos have sent their fair share over the years, with the likes of Bryan Trottier, Sheldon Kennedy, Dale Wiess and dozens others over the franchises history.

This year, 11 of the 12 players are returning. One is entering training camp embarking on the first year of his career.

Lane Pederson – Arizona Coyotes (Fourth Season)

Pederson has spent the past three years with the Coyotes AHL affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners, recording 51 goals and 56 assists in 167 games.

Pederson dressed for 99 regular season games with the Broncos after

being acquired from the Red Deer Rebels December 27, 2015.

 

Jake DeBrusk - Boston Bruins (Fourth Season)

Fresh off the signing a two-year contract extension on November 23, DeBrusk has played 203 games in the NHL, scoring 62 goals and 58 assists.

Drafted 137th overall by the Broncos in 2011, DeBrusk blossomed into an elite

WHL player recording 185 points in 205 games.

 

Cody Eakin – Buffalo Sabres (Tenth Season)

With a two year contract with the Buffalo Sabres freshly inked in October, Eakin enters his tenth year in the NHL with 586 games played, notching 237 points with the likes of Washington, Dallas, Las Vegas and Winnipeg.

Eakin was the sixth overall pick by the Broncos in the 2006 WHL Draft, playing 212 games for the Broncos before being traded to the Kootenay ICE in 2011.

 

Glenn Gawdin – Calgary Flames (Third Season)

Gawdin is stepping onto the ice with the Calgary Flames, setting his sights on earning a full-time NHL spot after earning a one year contract extension.

The fifth overall pick in the 2012 WHL Draft, Gawdin played five full seasons for the Broncos finishing with 313

points in 312 games, good for fifth on the franchise’s all-time scoring list. He

saved his best for last as he posted 125 points during the 2017-18 season.

 

Justin Dowling – Dallas Stars (Ninth Season)

Dowling has been a member of the Stars organization since early 2013 and has skated in 49 career NHL games todate, recording three goals and six assists.

Dowling spent his entire WHL career in Swift Current posting 242 points in 280 games from

2007-2011.

 

Julius Honka – Dallas Stars (Seventh Season)

Honka back with the Dallas Stars after a one-year stop in Finland.

Playing just one season with the Broncos in 2013-14, Honka put up 56 points in 62 games and represented Finland on the international stage, helping them win the gold medal at that year’s World Junior Championships in Malmo, Sweden.

 

Landon Bow – Dallas Stars (Fifth Season)

is the third and final Broncos alum at Dallas Stars training

The hird goalie with the Stars in the Edmonton bubble during their run to the Stanley Cup Final, Bow was drafted 78th overall by Swift Current in 2010.

Over a WHL career that spanned 160 games he put up a combined career record of 58-50-8-5 with a .908 save percentage and a 3.12 GAA.

 

Stuart Skinner – Edmonton Oilers (Third Season)

Skinner joins the Edmonton Oilers for training camp in the third and final year of his entry-level contract.

While he wasn’t a Bronco for very long, Skinner made the most of his time with the team as he backstopped them to the 2018 Ed Chynoweth Cup.

 

Aleksi Heponiemi – Florida Panthers (Second Season)

Following his first professional season in North America last year, Heponiemi racked up 204 points in just 126 games in Swift Current from 2016-2018. He added another 30 points in 24 playoff games to help the Broncos win the 2018 WHL title.

Heponiemi was drafted 40th overall by the Panthers in 2017 but eturned to his native Finland for the 2018-19 season.

 

Max Lajoie – Ottawa Senators (Fourth Season)

A member of the Broncos for three seasons, Lajoie recorded 119 points in 202 games in Swift Current before beginning his professional career for the 2017-18 season.

Lajoie was drafted by the Senators with the 133rd overall pick in 2016.

After spending his first season in the AHL, Lajoie burst onto the scene with a goal and an assist in his first NHL game, an overtime loss to Chicago October 4, 2018.

 

Joel Hofer – St. Louis Blues (First)

Signed as an undrafted free agent by the Broncos, Hofer joined the team in the 2017-18 season, helping the Broncos win the Ed Chynoweth Cup.

Handed the reigns as the starter the following year, he held the fort for the first half of the season before being moved to the Portland Winterhawks at the trade deadline.

He gained national attention when he took charge as Team Canada’s starting goalie during the 2020 World Junior Championships, backstopping them to a gold medal.

 

Adam Lowry – Winnipeg Jets (Eighth Season)

Back with the Winnipeg Jets for the seventh consecutive season, and eighth overall with the organization. The 67th overall pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft has played 408 games with the Jets to date.

Lowry spent his entire WHL career with the Broncos, skating in 231 games from 2008-2012 while recording 90 goals and 114 assists and was named the team’s captain in his final season.