The Swift Current Broncos are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team based in Swift Current, Saskatchewan. Founded in 1967, the Broncos relocated to Lethbridge, Alberta in 1974, and were known as the Lethbridge Broncos, before returning to Swift Current in 1986. The team plays in the Central Division of the Western Hockey League's Eastern Conference, and hosts games at Innovation Credit Union iPlex. Swift Current is the smallest city with a team in the WHL, and the second smallest across the entire Canadian Hockey League. The Broncos are three-time WHL playoff champions, and won the 1989 Memorial Cup. Before any of their championships, the Broncos were known for a 1986 team bus crash that resulted in the deaths of four players.
The Broncos were founded in 1967, joining the fledgling Western Canada Hockey League. The team, playing in the league's smallest city and in the brand new Centennial Civic Centre, struggled on the ice, posting losing records in its first six seasons.[3][4] The Broncos finally posted a winning record and won their first playoff series in 1973–74; however, struggling to stay afloat, the team's ownership relocated the club to Lethbridge, Alberta, home to a brand new arena, after the season.[5] A new Swift Current Broncos team was founded to play in the Tier II junior Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League starting that year. However, the community desired a return to top-flight junior hockey, and by 1986 close to 200 investors banded together to purchase the Lethbridge Broncos—who had won a league championship in 1983—and return them to Swift Current as a community-owned club.[6][7]
Only months into their first season back in Swift Current, on December 30, 1986, the Broncos' bus crashed in icy conditions on the way to a game in Regina.[8] Several players were injured and four players were killed: Trent Kresse, Scott Kruger, Chris Mantyka, and Brent Ruff.[6][9] Given the devastating tragedy, the team's board of directors discussed suspending operations for the remainder of the season. However, the players and coach, Graham James, voted to continue playing, and ultimately won out over a portion of the board that tried to suspend the team. The team refused professional counseling and turned down offers from other teams to loan players to the Broncos. The team called on prospects to fill out the roster and, led by star rookie Joe Sakic, who recorded 60 goals, earned the final playoff spot before bowing out in the first round.[9]
Since the bus crash, the team has worn a commemorative patch in remembrance of the four players killed. In memory of the players, the league renamed its annual award for best player the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy. On December 30, 2016—30 years after the crash—a two-metre tall granite memorial was unveiled at the crash site.[8]
The Broncos rapidly improved over the following two seasons, culminating in a 55-win season in 1988–89, securing the club's first Scotty Munro Trophy for best regular season record, led by the likes of Brian Sakic, Dan Lambert, and Tim Tisdale. In the playoffs, the team went undefeated en route to capturing the President's Cup and the right to play in the 1989 Memorial Cup tournament, hosted in Saskatoon.[10] The Broncos lost their round-robin game against the Saskatoon Blades before facing the Blades in a re-match in the tournament final—it was the first ever Memorial Cup final contested between two teams from the WHL, let alone Saskatchewan.[11] Despite losing a late lead that sent the game to overtime, Tisdale scored the sudden-death winner to give the Broncos the national championship.[10] The final was played less than two-and-a-half years after the 1986 bus crash.
With Graham James still at the helm, the team remained competitive for several seasons, and captured a second league championship in 1992–93. At the 1993 Memorial Cup, the Broncos were eliminated in a tie-breaker.[12] After the season, James resigned and worked on establishing an expansion team, which became the Calgary Hitmen. However, three years later, allegations arose that he sexually abused Sheldon Kennedy and one other former player during their time with the Broncos in the late 1980s. James plead guilty and was ultimately convicted and sentenced to three years in prison; he would later plead guilty to sexually assaulting another Broncos player in the early 1990s, among others.[13]
After their 1993 league title, the Broncos would advance to just one more Conference Final before 2018, winning only a single playoff round between 2002 and 2017. 2017–18 saw the team post its most wins since 1992–93 and its fourth ever 100-point season. Led by Glenn Gawdin, Aleksi Heponiemi, and goaltender Stuart Skinner, the Broncos survived 7-game series against the Regina Pats and Moose Jaw Warriors, defeated the Lethbridge Hurricanes in the Conference Final, and then the Everett Silvertips in the Final for the Ed Chynoweth Cup and the Broncos' third league championship.[14] At the 2018 Memorial Cup, hosted in Regina, the Broncos were eliminated after dropping their three round-robin matches, including to the host Pats who avenged their playoff series loss.[15]
The Broncos' original logo featured a bucking bronco and horseshoe design with a blue and green colour scheme. The team minimized and then dropped green starting in 1995, before updating and adopting their original designs full-time in 2014.[16]
In November 2018, a jersey honouring both the Swift Current Broncos and the Humboldt Broncos—another Saskatchewan junior team deeply affected by a fatal bus crash that occurred in April of that year—was unveiled and worn by both teams.[17]
Like many junior teams, the Broncos frequently adopt limited-edition and special-event jerseys. In 2023, the team temporarily re-branded as the Lake Diefenbaker Slough Sharks, unveiling a new jersey featuring a northern pike logo.[18][19]
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
The Swift Current Broncos retired the jersey numbers of the four players who died in the 1986 team bus crash.[8]
Bob Clarke Trophy (WHL top scorer)
Four Broncos Memorial Trophy (WHL player of the year)
Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy (WHL rookie of the year)
Bill Hunter Memorial Trophy (WHL top defenceman)
Del Wilson Trophy (WHL top goaltender)
Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy (WHL coach of the year)
Doc Seaman Trophy (WHL scholastic player of the year)
Brad Hornung Trophy (WHL most smortsmanship)
WHL Playoff MVP (Awarded since 1992)
Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy (Memorial Cup MVP)
{{cite web}}: Text "Broncos Remove Interim Tag from Head Coach Taras McEwen" ignored (help)