Broncos add Geekie in blockbuster trade
The Swift Current Broncos made one of their biggest acquisitions in franchise history on Jan. 4 when they acquired forward Conor Geekie from the Wenatchee Wild in exchange for three players and four draft picks, including a pair of first-round picks.
The 6’4’’ centre had 20 goals and 29 assists in 26 games with the Wild this season. He registered 35 goals and 42 assists in 66 games last season with the Winnipeg Ice before adding 17 points in 19 playoff outings.
Geekie, a Strathclair, MB product, was the 11th overall pick by the Arizona Coyotes in the 2022 NHL Draft. He recently represented Canada at the World Junior Championship in Sweden and finished with two goals and one assist while playing 14:02 per game over five games.
“We’re very excited to add a player like Conor Geekie to our group,” said Broncos General Manager Chad Leslie in a team statement. “His combination of size, skill, hockey sense, and compete make him one of the most impactful players in the WHL. His experience in the post-season, paired with his experience at the World Juniors will be beneficial for our group as we push to the playoffs.”
The players sent to Wenatchee were defenceman Josh Fluker, defenceman Sam Ward, and forward Maddix Mccagherty. The draft picks are first-round picks in 2025 and 2026, along with a second-round pick in 2025 and a seventh-round pick in 2027.
Fluker was the Broncos first-round pick, seventh overall, in the 2021 WHL Prospects Draft. He had 17 points and a plus-two rating in 101 games with the Broncos over parts of three seasons in Swift Current.
Ward had eight points in 61 games with the Broncos over the past two seasons. Mccagherty had five goals and six assists in 21 games with the Broncos this season. He started the year with the Broncos last season and appeared in 11 games without a point.
The Broncos had just secured the service of 6’5’’ Czech defenseman Jakub Dvorak after drafting him in the 2022 CHL Import Draft, a signing that gave them some options to make the blockbuster deal for Geekie.
“It did. I feel it gave us the ability to do what we did just because you get a player like that for free and add to our line-up. The reality is with Reid Dyck and Mat Ward being injured for so long here too when we get those guys back those will be like deadline acquisitions for us as well,”
said Leslie.
Leslie pointed out that Dyck had only played 12 games this season. “He was outstanding in those games that he played. We haven’t seen a full line-up yet, but we’re excited to get everybody in.”
“I like our group. With all the injuries that we had with all of the guys at the start of the season, midway through the season, and then just recently here, we’ve had some guys step up and play really, really well and showed us that we do have a little bit of depth there. We add a defenseman like Jakub for free and it gives us an opportunity to get a player.”
The Broncos were sixth in the Eastern Conference with an 18-15-2-2 record at the time of the
blockbuster deal, but they moved into fourth with a pair a weekend wins before Geekie had even arrived. The Broncos had eight 19-year-old players after the trade.
“The decision making solely is one of opportunity and feeling like we have confidence in our group for sure. Obviously the financial aspect in a small market is a big thing, but it didn’t weigh in to the decision making to do this. I just felt that based on our assets that we have and the ability potentially to have some guys back and be able to recover an asset or two, we had a really good opportunity with a good group of kids here to do this and so we did.”
Geekie has played in 34 playoff games over the past two seasons and
that experience was important to Leslie.
“Yeah for sure it is. He’s been in a successful program with some really good players, some highend players with some high-end coaching with James Patrick and Taras and that group did a really good job with them. I think it’s important to have some guys that have had some experience for sure.”
The Broncos have missed the playoffs by a single win in each of the past two seasons.
“We also have played for two years in a row right down to the wire the last game of the season meaning something. We’ve played meaningful games as well as a group. We try and remind our guys that we haven’t seen the playoffs, but
we’ve played meaningful games and we’ve learned from them for sure,” said Leslie.
The Broncos were averaging 2,016 fans through their first 18 home games. The franchise is hoping that fans will support them down the stretch and into the playoffs.
“I absolutely do and I have faith that they will. We’ve got great fans and they’ve supported us well to this point too. For us to make this deal is also for the fans. I think it’s a great opportunity for us to give the fans something to get excited about too. And even more within our group, we’ve got a great group. Our fans have supported us very well to this point and I’m sure they’ll respond,” said Leslie.