Broncos Open Pre-Season Schedule Tonight

The eyes of the WHL are on Swift Current tonight as the Broncos host the Moose Jaw Warriors in their annual rookie game.

It's the first game on the WHL pre-season schedule.

During Home Hardware's Overtime on The Eagle 94.1 last night, Assistant GM Jamie Porter broke down what we can expect from the game.

"We've got a number of young guys that are trying to make a reputation early on," Porter said. "We've got a couple of young guys that are fighting for jobs. We've got guys that need to show the coaching staff that what we've been talking as scouts to them that they can do that."

Porter is looking to see the compete level rise as the players get their first taste of game action.

"This is the first real competition," he said. "It's strange at training camp. You're fighting for a job, you're trying to do what you can, but you still remember the guys on the other side are teammates."

Home Hardware's Overtime August 26th"Sometimes you don't take it too far as much as we'd like them to."

The Broncos are carrying 18 skaters, 7 defencemen and 3 goalies into pre-season. Import defenceman Julius Honka is still not on that roster as he gets his paperwork finalized. Forward Dakota Odgers is also not in the lineup as he is out until at least November after shoulder surgery.

15-year-olds Tyler Steenbergen and Cole Johnson will play in the rookie game and on the weekend in Edmonton before returning to their midget teams. That means There are only a few more cuts to make based on pre-season play.

The game definitely won’t be the prettiest hockey of the season, but it will be a good chance for the coaching staff and management to see what they have in store for the future.

“It’s going to be scrambly and it’s going to be erratic,” said Warriors head coach Mike Stothers after the team’s afternoon practice at Mosaic Place on Monday.  “All I want to see is what I usually want to see from a Warriors team.  I want to see a good work ethic, I want to see commitment, I want to see us playing the right way and I want to see a never die attitude."

“I’m not going to be worried about the outcome, that’s not important to me, I want to see our kids compete.”

The young stars from both the Warriors and Broncos hit the ice at 7:05pm tonight at the Credit Union iPlex.