Max Lajoie against Brandon (photo by Darwin Knelsen for scbroncos.com)

The Swift Current Broncos will drop the puck on the WHL's 50th season tonight in Brandon.

It's an immediate test for them against the defending Eastern Conference champions.

"They can expose you," said Broncos Coach/GM Mark Lamb. "They can expose a really good team. We've seen it ourselves. We're going to have to play real smart and we're going to have to play as a team. We'll see exactly where we're at."

The Broncos are still dealing with a number of injuries and the absence of Jake DeBrusk to NHL camp. That means they are still going to rely on strong system play to contain a very deep Brandon offence. That Wheat Kings scoring depth was bolstered by the returns of Tim McGauley and Ivan Provorov from NHL camps this week.

"We're going to have to play a smart game against them," Lamb said. "We change a lot with our system on different teams that we play against. We changed against Saskatoon (last Saturday) and the guys really bougt in."

"You're going to have to play above the puck. You can't turn the puck over against them. They don't just three guys coming it's sometimes four. We have to have everyone back, clog up the middle of the ice and let them go to the outside and get shots from the outside."

Swift Current starts the regular season with a lot of questions because of how many injuries they've dealt with through training camp. Cavin Leth, Cole Johnson, Scott Feser, Andreas Schumacher, Calvin Spencer, Ryan Sokoloski, Conner Chaulk and Jordan Harris all missed time at camp due to injury, while Landon Bow, Glenn Gawdin and DeBrusk were at NHL camp.

"It's been a real tough go for us," Lamb said. "It terms of getting lines together and getting guys on the same page we've been all over the map with injuries and having people playing different positions they're probably not going to play in the regular season. It's been a grind."

The good news is that the Broncos got Bow and Gawdin back from NHL camp. They also expect Leth, Spencer and Sokoloski to play on Friday in Brandon. Feser is a game time decision.

Schumacher is one of two imports allowed on the roster and his injury looks to be longer term.

"We're not going to have him for a long time," Lamb said. "We don't know the extent. You have to make a decision (on imports) that's why we have to know how long he's going to be out."

There are also still some cuts to make as the Broncos have more players in every position than they are planning to keep for the season. Those injuries and players away at camp haven't allowed them to cut down as soon as they'd like.

With Bow back from Anaheim he jumps right back into the starting role.

"He's clearly our number one goalie," Lamb said. "He had a really good camp in Anaheim, he's in a great frame of mind and that's really good for him. He played so great last year at times and had some struggles. That turns into consistency."

"He learned from some of the mistakes last year. He's in great shape. He's been through it and if you ask Landon Bow he'd say he would want to play as much or more as he did alst season, but hopefully we don't have to do that."

You can listen to the game live on The Eagle 94.1 FM starting with our pre-game show at 6pm. The Broncos then host Brandon on Saturday for their home opener.

Special activities for the home opener start at 4:30pm Saturday at the Credit Union iPlex with a chance to win an X-Box and a mini-fridge.

Click here for the full interview with Lamb