Broncos fever strikes in Swift Current
Playoff tickets for first two games against Regina sold out in 20 minutes
It’s 30 minutes to SWIFT CURRENT game time and several vehicles are circling the Credit Union iPlex in search of a rare parking spot. Good luck.
The main lot in front of the Swift Current Broncos’ home arena is jam-packed.
Finding a place to park is almost as difficult as locating a ticket for Swift Current’s first-round WHL playoff series against the archrival Regina Pats.
Games 1 and 2 of the best-ofseven matchup sold out in just 20 minutes — and it would have happened quicker if the system hadn’t briefly crashed due to overload.
None of it is a surprise to Broncos head coach Manny Viveiros, who has watched the WHL’s smallest market explode in response to what might be the best team Swift Current has seen since its last championship in 1993.
“It has been almost a playoff atmosphere since the trade deadline and even before that,” Viveiros said before Friday’s series opener versus Regina.
“Even in October, November our rink was pretty full. Then later on we started selling out.
“It has been a long time since we’ve had our games sold out during the regular season. Everyone has been rallying around our hockey team.”
The Broncos expected to have a strong team after bringing back the core of a group that upset the Moose Jaw Warriors in the first round last year and took the heavily favoured Pats to Game 7 in an Eastern Conference semifinal.
Their returnees include the most-feared line in the WHL: Glenn Gawdin, Tyler Steenbergen and Aleksi Heponiemi.
That trio propelled the Broncos to eight straight wins right out of the gate.
They never looked back, with the team finishing second overall in the league (48-17-5-2).
It was the Broncos’ best record in 18 years, but it likely wouldn’t have happened without a significant mid-season nudge.
“It was before the world junior tournament where we were realistically looking at our lineup,” said Viveiros, who doubles as the team’s director of player personnel.
“That one line was pretty dynamic. They were doing a lot of our scoring. We also knew that we couldn’t win a playoff round (that way). We felt we had to add some experience and depth to our hockey club.”
Viveiros addressed those issues with five trades, highlighted by three blockbusters.
The first came on Nov. 25 when he acquired two impact forwards — Matteo Gennaro and Beck Malenstyn — from the Calgary Hitmen.
That was followed on Jan. 7 by the addition of veteran stay-athome defenceman Josh Anderson from the Prince George Cougars.
The finishing touch came two days later from the Lethbridge Hurricanes, who were persuaded to part with high-scoring centre Giorgio Estephan, gritty winger Tanner Nagel and veteran goaltender Stuart Skinner.
The finished product was impressive — three lines as good as any in the league and a big, tough defence complemented by a quality battle-tested goaltender.
Those three deals also didn’t come cheap, the Broncos surrendering nine players/prospects and six high draft picks (including three first-rounders).
“We just felt going forward that you don’t get an opportunity very often to have a group of kids that special (to build from),” said Viveiros, whose team is ranked fourth in the country.
“It has been a long, long time since Swift Current had an opportunity to be in the mix as far
It has been a long time since we’ve had our games sold out during the regular season.
as a team that has been getting national recognition. We knew we were going to lose all these highend players next year. We’re going to be in kind of a retool next year but we’re still pretty confident we have some good young kids. It’s not going to be a four- or five-year rebuild. We’ll be back in the mix of things sooner than later.”
That said, it wasn’t an easy decision to go “all in.”
As a community-owned team, the Broncos walk a fine line between the red and black on their yearly financial statement.
This season’s breakthrough is very good for business, but it could come at a cost if the team struggles through some lean years.
“That’s something we had discussed long and hard through our organization and our board,” said Viveiros. “It was going to be very, very expensive. To be quite honest, things were at a standstill and a lot of times teams were asking for certain players or certain conditions and we just said, ‘No, it’s not even a conversation.’ The only way we got those conversations going was when we said, ‘OK, maybe we might have to do this.’ ” Viveiros got the green light. “We were all behind him,” said Broncos governor Allen Stewart.
“At the end of the day, we have to play this game to win. It’s one of those things that doesn’t happen very often but when it does you need to be prepared for it. What we didn’t really anticipate is how quickly the people of Swift Current would pick up on that and get behind the team.”
By the time the Broncos cut off pro-rated season-ticket sales in late January, their numbers had jumped from 1,702 to 2,405. Why the surge?
In addition to the team’s performance, season-ticket holders would enjoy the right of first refusal on playoff tickets.
Since the iPlex only holds 2,890, demand would be sky-high.
“It literally was within days of the trade deadline and we sold several hundred season tickets,” said Stewart.
“It’ll have a big financial impact for us, which we may need next year because we laid a fairly big bet on this.”
The risk is even greater considering an unprecedented level of competition in the East Division this season.
There’s no guarantee the Broncos will get out of the first round, let alone the second.
Fortunately, their regular-season attendance should already have them in position to record a small profit while crossing their fingers for a potential playoff windfall.
The team averaged 2,500 fans per game this season — an increase of 500 over last year.
“The attendance has been nothing short of amazing,” added Stewart. “We’ve managed to keep our head above water in the years gone by but this is certainly going to have an impact on us. It would be fair to say the club has never enjoyed a stronger showing financially (in the regular season).”
The excitement has even spilled over to the players, who sense a change in the community.
They’d love nothing better than to keep it going all the way to the Memorial Cup in Regina.
“It has been pretty special,” said Steenbergen. “Ever since I was 16, the community always knows who you are but this year it has been extra crazy. You walk around town and people are asking you how you’re doing and recognizing you. It’s pretty cool … especially in Swift ( because) that helps them out a lot in the money department.
“The fans are going to be a huge part in our success.”