It wasn't long ago Sahvan Khaira's Swift Current Broncos were facing off with Ethan O'Rourke's Everett Silvertips in a hard-fought battle for the Ed Chynoweth Cup.

Now the veterans are switching sides in a deal with new opportunities on the horizon.

For O'Rourke it is maybe a chance to go from a career as a bottom-six forward to a chance with a team filling some offensive voids.

"He's a big guy we like his size," said Broncos Coach/Director of Hockey Operations Dean Brockman. "Some people tell me he was a little underutilized. I think he can play in a lot of different situations. With us having a loss of all the skill that we did he's going to be utilized in all those situations. Whether it's in a skill position of winning a big face-off towards the end of a game, I think those contributions are going to be huge for us."

That potential to play a more significant role is there for O'Rouke even in the view of his old team.

"He's a big body centreman who I think did reasonably well with the face-off side," said Everett GM Gary Davidson. "The biggest thing with Ethan is he has to understand what he is and play to his strengths. If he does that he will be a big plus for them up the middle."

O'Rourke won 199 of the 401 faceoffs he took as an 18-year-old leaving him at just below 50% as he gained significant experience in that role. He also put up 18 points in 66 regular season games and suited up for 18 of Everett's playoff games.

For Khaira it's one last kick at the can in junior as he enters his overage year still looking to catch on with a professional team.

"I think he's one of those classic big guys that maybe it takes a little bit more time for his development or kind of a late bloomer," Davidson said. "I think the additional 20-year-old season will really benefit him and hopefully elevate his game where he gets an opportunity at the pro level."



Khaira enters his overage season having attended both Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks development camp without yet inking a professional contract.

He was a big part of Swift Current's WHL Championship run last season and was looking for a fresh start as an overage player.

"He was a real good soldier for the Swift Current Broncos," Brockman said. "At the end of the day he wanted to be closer to home, and we had a 20-year-old situation where we wanted to get good value back."

The Broncos also got a 3rd round pick in 2020 in the deal to help make up for a shortage in draft picks over the next two years.

Khaira's planned departure was a part of Swift Current's decision to claim veteran defenceman Ryan Pouliot from Kootenay.

"Certainly we want some older presence on our back end to be that calming force," Brockman said. "We weren't exactly sure where that was going, but with Sahvan wanted to go in a different direction it certainly made sense to bring in someone who didn't cost us anything."



Pouliot, Tanner Nagel, Andrew Fyten, Kole Gable, Kaden Elder and import Artyom Minulin are expected to battle for the three overage spots on Swift Current's roster. Their other 19-year-olds from last season have all signed professional contracts and will likely not return to the WHL.

The Broncos have also now signed both their CHL Import Draft picks from this year and will be bringing F Joona Kiviniemi and D Roope Pynnonen to camp. Both should start the season with the Broncos as they wait for Minulin to recover from post-season shoulder surgery.

"We know (Minulin) is out for quite some time," Brockman said. "Plan A is to bring both guys in and make sure they were everything we were told. We know that Minny is available to us, we know what kind of a player he is, we just have to see what the other guys bring to the table and see if they're going to fit in the way we want them to. You can move your first-year Euros after December 1st. We may not get to that point, but it gives us more options."

Swift Current has now added O'Rourke, Pouliot, F Collum McGauley and the two imports since Brockman's arrival as Director of Hockey Operations. Training camp is now only a few weeks away for the defending champions.