The Swift Current Broncos made a statement on Saturday.

After pulling off one of their biggest trades in recent franchise history they've declared to the WHL that the Broncos are serious about contending for a league championship this season.

Swift Current added veteran scorers Matteo Gennaro and Beck Malenstyn from Calgary along with a 2018 5th round bantam draft pick for overage forward Conner Chaulk, 18-year-old defenceman Dom Schmiemann, 17-year-old forward Riley Stotts, NCAA committed prospect Josh Prokop, 15-year-old goaltending prospect Ethan Hein and a 2018 2nd round bantam draft pick.

The deal addresses Swift Current's most obviously need for secondary scoring in their forward group as Tyler Steenbergen, Glenn Gawdin and Aleksi Heponiemi had been carrying almost the entire load.

“It's obvious we do need secondary scoring and we do need depth,” said Broncos Head Coach/Director of Player Personnel Manny Viveiros. “We had a really good chance to evaluate our hockey club and we felt going forward if we're going to have a chance to compete in this East Division... we thought we had to add some depth. We were fortunate enough to acquire two pretty good hockey players. They both can score, they're big, they're heavy and we're hoping for the rest of the season that's going to pay off for us and into the playoffs.”

Gennaro is an overage veteran of 293 WHL games and has 194 points over his career. He notched 43 goals and 37 assists for Calgary as a 19-year-old and has added 14 goals and 11 assists in 22 games this season.

The 6'3, 198lbs St. Albert product and former Winnipeg Jets draft pick started his WHL career with Prince Albert and lines up as a left handed centreman.

Malenstyn is a 19-year-old power left wing who scored 32 goals and had 24 assists in his breakout year for Calgary last season. The White Rock, BC native is a signed prospect of the Washington Capitals and comes in at 6'2, 202lbs.

“They're going to fit into our style,” Viveiros noted. “We're going to have two real lines teams are going to concentrate on, and we're also going to lighten up some of the ice time our top line is getting. We've got to have balance it's a long season and we need other people to contribute.”

Gennaro is expected to be in the lineup on Wednesday against Victoria. Malenstyn has only played four games this season due to an upper body and injury and is expected back in a couple weeks.

The deal came at a cost with Swift Current trading away both their 2015 and 2016 first round bantam picks in Schmiemann and Stotts. They also lose Chaulk who has been their second line centre and an important two-way player for them all season.

“We're losing three fine young men,” Viveiros said. “It was a very, very difficult decision. They're all great kids and a big part of our hockey team. We felt we had to do something sooner than wait... because we know there are other teams that are looking. They're not just kicking tires they're looking and making offers. We felt we had to get in early and we didn't want to left later on towards trade deadline where we're going to have to overbid to get a couple players.”

Prokop was unlikely to be an asset for Swift Current going forward as he is playing for Vernon in the BCHL and has committed to play NCAA. The Hitmen may have a better shot at recruiting him since they picked his younger brother in the most recent bantam draft.

Hein was a signed prospect for the Broncos they selected in the third round of the most recent draft and played for Saskatchewan at this year's WHL Cup Under 16 tournament. He has a 3.83 goals against average and 0.880 save percentage in 7 games with the Moose Jaw Generals in Saskatchewan Midget AAA hockey this season.

While the Broncos immediately replace Stotts and Chaulk with Gennaro and Malenstyn up front, they didn't acquire a replacement for Schmiemann and are now down to seven defenceman on the roster. For now they will look to replace his minutes internally.

“We're going to keep evaluating and giving opportunities for other kids to keep developing.” Viveiros said. “For example a real pleasant surprise this year is Noah King for us. The kid has been outstanding and he's been getting better and better. In our coach's room we're calling him our second Sahvan Khaira in how Sahvan developed last year from Christmas time he took off. That's what we're hoping for Noah King to keep developing and our other defenceman too.”

That doesn't mean the Broncos are done in what is likely to be an intense arms race among East Division contenders.

“We are going to look,” Viveiros said. “There's no question we're going to keep looking and if there's something that makes sense for our hockey team we're going to seriously have to consider it.”