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Brad Hoban (wearing the A) and Jordan Peddle (wearing the C) pictured last season

Over 80 players hit the ice for the first day of Swift Current Broncos training camp.

The four overage players have been through this process more than anyone else on the roster. Yet this time there is a slight difference.

There is only room for three of them.

The choice looms large for Broncos Assistant General Manager Jamie Porter.

"It's an awful decision for us," said Porter.

"Especially with guys that have been with this organization for several years."

Brad Hoban, Jordan Peddle, Taylor Vause and Dillon Wagner have played 816 WHL games between them. Every single one of those games was played as a member of the Broncos.

One of these home grown talents will be a victim of the WHL's overage limit.

Swift Current made some moves to deal with their overage situation already. They released forward Killian Hutt and traded defenceman Kyle Verdino to Seattle. There is still at least one move left to make.

Hoban admits it's something he has been thinking about.

"It's kind of in the back of your head that you might not be here," Hoban said.

"You might not even be in the league. It's important to have a good camp this year."

Hoban has played four full seasons with the Broncos and led the team with 25 goals last season. He is expecting a point-per-game performance this time around.

"I think just being consistent every night will be the biggest thing," said the Victoria native.

Hoban played much of last season on a line with Taylor Vause and Winnipeg Jets draft pick Adam Lowry. He and Vause were 2nd and 3rd in points for the Broncos, but that is no guarantee of anything.

Vause has played three full seasons in Swift Current and scored a career high 47 points in 2010-11. He also has the advantage of playing at centre, a position where the Broncos don't have much depth going into September.

The other two potential overage players at camp are known as much for their character and grit as they are for their point production. Jordan Peddle and Dillon Wagner are in a lot of ways carved from the same stone.

The major difference last season was that Peddle played almost a full schedule while Wagner was hampered by a string of injuries that limited him to only 25 games. The product of Duffield, Alberta now says he's at full health.

"I'm coming to camp healthy for the first time in a while and it feels great," Wagner said.

"(The overage players) bring different things to the table and whatever (Coach Lamb) wants is what he is going to take."

Peddle is hoping he can pick up where he left off at the end of last season. After scoring 19 points in his first 51 games last season, Peddle put up 12 points in his final 19 games. There was a stretch in February when he was arguable the team's best player.

"I really hope I can carry it forward this year," Peddle said.

"I worked hard skating this summer... you get the chances you get the opportunities and you have to capitalize on those chances."

Broncos Coach and General Manager Mark Lamb has spent two seasons working with all four guys.

"I know how good they're going to be," Lamb said.

"It's how they can play and how they can fit in with these younger guys that we're building around."

Leadership could end up being the deciding factor. It's something they all embrance.

"I've been part of the Bronco organization longer than anyone else," Hoban said.

"I think it's import I'm a leader here."

That ability to lead could be one of the deciding factors that leaves one career Bronco out in the cold.

Interview with Brad Hoban


Interview with Jordan Peddle


Interview with Dillon Wagner


Click here for the full schedule of Broncos Training Camp