It didn't take Ben King long to take his spot on the throne.

At the site of last season's playoff series victory, the 15-year-old made an instant impression in his WHL pre-season debut. King had a hat trick as the Swift Current Broncos beat Moose Jaw 4-0 in their annual rookie game.

“Any time you can score in your first WHL game it's pretty special,” said Broncos associate coach Ryan Smith. “For him to get three tonight good on him. He's been real good for us. After draft talking to him and he signed right away he really wanted to be a Bronco. He played pretty hard today. I thought all week in training camp he really held his own with the veterans. We're really looking forward to having him in the lineup in the coming years. He's going to be a special player.”

King struck twice on the power play and once on a Moose Jaw giveaway to give Broncos fans a taste of a full time future for the young forward next year in Swift Current.

“I think he's one of those guys he does everything right,” Smith noted. “He's very smooth. Handles the puck well, skates well, plays at both ends... I was lucky enough to work with him in Victoria this summer with the provincial team and I was impressed with him there all week. He works hard at his game, he loves the game and he does things from one end to the other.”

The Broncos drew penalties all night in a game made up of primarily rookies or sophomores from the old rivals. They went 3 for 8 on the power play to pull away from Moose Jaw.

“I think it's just one of those nights,” Smith said. “It just worked out well for us. There's no special rhyme or reason why that happened. It was just the way it worked tonight. We got a couple shots through and a couple turnovers. You need to take advantage of that.”

Barlage started it after a Warriors turnover led to Riely Stotts setting him for a one-timer. He added two assists on the other two Broncos power play goals.

“Logan wants to be a hockey player,” Smith said. “He came in last season in the playoffs and jumped right in. He took off from the moment camp started. Today he was real good. He wants to be a point producer, but he also works in his own zone. A guy who is going to grow and grow as we get going here.”

Joel Hofer had 12 saves and Ethan Hein added 8 more as the two young goaltenders split the game for a shutout.

“I liked them both. I thought they were square to the puck and had good rebound control. Going forward the goaltending looks pretty solid.”

Now the Broncos head to Regina on Friday and Saturday for two games in the Pats exhibition tournament. They don't play at home until their final game of the pre-season at the Fairview West Arena until September 10th.