The Swift Current Broncos made a pair of moves yesterday.

The team signed first-round CHL Import Draft pick Joona Kiviniemi, as well as claiming defenceman Ryan Pouliot off waivers from the Kootenay Ice.

-------

Kiviniemi was taken 59th overall by the Broncos, and was the first of two Finnish prospects selected by head coach and director of hockey operations Dean Brockman.

"You know, when you're going into the Euro Draft, you've got to make sure you can get guys signed," said Brockman of inking their first-rounder. "We've heard a lot of really good things about this young man, and we're hoping he fits in really good."

Brockman said they haven't been in contact personally with Kiviniemi, although through talks with the prospect's agent, the excitement is palpable.

"I know that he's very excited to be here, and wants to be a Bronco."

This year's crop of import talent has some big shoes to fill after the resounding success over the two-year career of now-former Bronco and Finnish prospect Aleksi Heponiemi.

However, Brockman says that won't be the focus - getting Kiviniemi comfortable and flourishing in southwest Saskatchewan is at the forefront.

"You want to throw your players into situations where they can succeed, so I don't think we want to raise that bar too high," said Brockman. "It's going to take an adjustment - you're coming to a new country, a new team, a new way of doing things. We just want to put him in situations where he's going to succeed, and hopefully he does well for us."

The same goes for Roope Pynnonen, who the Broncos selected in the second round of the import draft. Although Pynnonen is not signed yet, that could become a reality before too long.

"He's a big priority, and certainly I think we're within days of having him sign as well," Brockman shared.

-------

Meanwhile the 20-year-old Pouliot brings a healthy dose of WHL experience to the Broncos' blue-line.

The 6-foot-2, 179-pound defenceman enters his overage season having logged 169 WHL games, chipping in 30 points (3 G, 27 A) over four seasons spent with the Red Deer Rebels and Kootenay Ice.

The move, according to the Broncos director of hockey operations, was to add veteran depth and competition at training camp.

"I think it's just a matter of honestly just getting us more depth at that position. Certainly we have too many 20-year-olds, and certainly you want to make the competition at camp a lot better," said Brockman. "He's a guy that's played games in the league. Any time you have a player that's played games in the league, there's a certain amount of value to it and we thought it was important to bring some competition into camp."

Beyond the role of veteran presence in training camp, if Pouliot can secure one of three overage spots on the Broncos' roster, Brockman is comfortable the Ottawa-born blue-liner will be able to help shore up the back end.

"I've heard some good things off-ice - he definitely brings some leadership to the table," said the Broncos new bench boss. "He's a big, strong kid that can eat a lot of minutes. We're going to have some young guys on our back end that are going to struggle from time-to-time. When you have that, you want to have that veteran presence - he certainly brings that to the table."

-------

The Kiviniemi signing and Pouliot acquisition are the latest moves in the Brockman era in the southwest. His first move was acquiring Collum McGauley from the Kelowna Rockets for a 2021 eighth-round bantam draft pick.

"The price was right, to be honest," said Brockman on the McGauley deal. "That was one of the aspects of it, but also a guy that's played meaningful games in the league. He's a guy that hasn't been given a chance to play in maybe a position he's excelled at at the lower levels."

In what's been a busy off-season for the organization after a slew of coaching and personnel changes, Brockman says he's looking forward to getting to training camp and seeing what players step up and fill the void of many of the top scorers from last year.

"That's what you want. Guys that are going to want to step up and play in those roles, they have to kind of audition for them because they haven't been in those situations. That creates competition - when there's competition, good things happen."