The glut of overage players for the Swift Current Broncos has shrunk with the departures of Zac Mackay, Tanner LeSann, Ayrton Nikkel and Linden Penner.
A team press release stated that Mackay chose to leave the Broncos to pursue other endeavours.
“Zac was a big part of our team’s identity and was a fantastic ambassador in the community” said Broncos Coach/GM Mark Lamb. “Zac will be a success at whatever he chooses to pursue and we wish him all the best.”
Mackay scored 37 points in 229 games with Swift Current. The local product played an important two way role for the team over parts of five seasons.
“Thank you to the (Swift Current Broncos) for the past 5 years,” Mackay said on Twitter. “It truly was an honor and a dream come true to play for the team I grew up watching and admiring.”
“Also thanks to (Swift Current) for the support throughout those years. It's unbelievable how much it means to have support from everyone around the city. Those 5 years couldn't have been possible without the support from the fans, my family and my friends. That being said I am excited to start the next chapter of my life and see what it has to offer.”
Swift Current also released LeSann, Nikkel and Penner with an eye towards giving them the best chance to find other opportunities in hockey.
“They're (overage) players you can only have three on your team,” Lamb said. “At the end of year meetings we had pretty much made up our mind what we were going to do with them.”
“If you don't have any plans for them yourself I think you want to do the best for the player and hope they can move on.”
Their departures combined with Jay Merkley's decision to skip his overage season to play for the University of Lethbridge leave the Broncos with only two likely returning overage players. Landon Bow and Griffin Foulk are pencilled in with an slight possibility that either Brett Lernout or Dillon Heatherington could return from the professional ranks. Swift Current is open to adding some other veterans.
“There's a lot of (overage players) out there right now,” Lamb noted. “We're going to make it competitive. We need some older guys. We're going to have a young team with some really exciting young players so we're looking for some leadership.”
LeSann was the longest serving of the released overage players. The Yorkton product put up 36 points in 196 games while leading the WHL with 40 fights over his three seasons.
Nikkel joined the Broncos in an early season trade from Saskatoon. The steady defenceman had 11 points in 67 games with Swift Current.
Penner had 6 points in 36 games after joining Swift Current as a free agent mid-season.
The WHL announced both their regular and pre-season schedule this week. The Broncos and Moose Jaw Warriors open the exhibition schedule on September 1rst in Swift Current with their annual rookie game. The regular season opener is in Brandon on September 25th.
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