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 East 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.
History
Early years 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. 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. 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.
1986 team bus crash
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. Several players were injured and four players were killed: Trent Kresse, Scott Kruger, Chris Mantyka, and Brent Ruff. 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.
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.
Championships 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. 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. Despite losing a late lead that sent the game to overtime, Tisdale scored the sudden-death winner to give the Broncos the national championship. 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. 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 pleaded 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.
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. 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.
Logo and jerseys 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.
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.
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.
Season-by-season record Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
First Broncos (1967–1974) Season GP W L T — GF GA Points Finish Playoffs 1967–68 60 16 38 6 – 242 343 38 9th Overall Did not qualify 1968–69 60 14 44 2 – 186 329 30 4th West Lost quarterfinal 1969–70 60 27 31 2 – 240 265 56 3rd West Lost quarterfinal 1970–71 66 24 40 2 – 229 290 50 4th West Lost quarterfinal 1971–72 68 25 42 1 – 242 311 51 5th East Did not qualify 1972–73 68 27 35 6 – 300 359 60 5th East Did not qualify 1973–74 68 35 24 9 – 240 306 79 3rd East Lost semifinalSecond Broncos (1986–present) Season GP W L T OTL GF GA Points Finish Playoffs 1986–87 72 28 40 4 – 331 393 60 6th East Lost East Division quarterfinal 1987–88 72 44 26 2 – 388 312 90 4th East Lost East Division semifinal 1988–89 72 55 16 1 – 447 319 111 1st East Won Championship and Memorial Cup 1989–90 72 29 39 4 – 323 351 62 6th East Lost in first round 1990–91 72 40 29 3 – 369 351 83 3rd East Lost in first round 1991–92 72 35 33 4 – 296 313 74 5th East Lost East Division semifinal 1992–93 72 49 21 2 – 384 267 100 1st East Won Championship 1993–94 72 35 33 4 – 284 258 74 4th East Lost East Division semifinal 1994–95 72 31 34 7 – 274 284 69 6th East Lost in first round 1995–96 72 36 31 5 – 285 271 77 1st Central Lost in first round 1996–97 72 44 23 5 – 336 243 93 2nd East Lost Eastern Conference semifinal 1997–98 72 44 19 9 – 276 220 97 2nd East Lost Eastern Conference semifinal 1998–99 72 34 32 6 – 232 211 74 4th East Lost Eastern Conference quarterfinal 1999–2000 72 47 18 4 3 257 170 101 1st East Lost Eastern Conference semifinal 2000–01 72 43 20 7 2 275 215 95 1st East Lost Eastern Conference final 2001–02 72 42 17 6 7 274 218 97 2nd Central Lost Eastern Conference semifinal 2002–03 72 38 24 7 3 240 215 86 2nd Central Lost Eastern Conference quarterfinal 2003–04 72 36 29 7 0 234 209 79 4th Central Lost Eastern Conference quarterfinal 2004–05 72 22 41 6 3 135 218 53 5th Central Did not qualify Season GP W L OTL SOL GF GA Pts Finish Playoffs 2005–06 72 24 34 6 8 175 242 62 4th Central Lost Eastern Conference quarterfinal 2006–07 72 33 36 1 2 199 241 69 3rd East Lost Eastern Conference quarterfinal 2007–08 72 41 24 1 6 244 205 89 3rd East Lost Eastern Conference semifinal 2008–09 72 42 28 1 1 258 220 86 3rd East Lost Eastern Conference quarterfinal 2009–10 72 37 30 1 4 231 232 79 3rd East Lost Eastern Conference quarterfinal 2010–11 72 26 44 0 2 181 260 54 6th East Did not qualify 2011–12 72 27 37 2 6 216 272 62 5th East Did not qualify 2012–13 72 36 29 3 4 206 193 79 3rd East Lost Eastern Conference quarterfinal 2013–14 72 38 25 3 6 248 229 85 2nd East Lost Eastern Conference quarterfinal 2014–15 72 34 33 1 4 221 245 73 3rd East Lost Eastern Conference quarterfinal 2015–16 72 24 38 7 3 189 249 58 5th East Did not qualify 2016–17 72 39 23 4 6 247 239 88 3rd East Lost Eastern Conference semifinal 2017–18 72 48 17 5 2 284 213 103 2nd East Won Championship 2018–19 68 11 51 4 2 135 301 28 6th East Did not qualify 2019–20 63 10 48 2 3 129 298 25 6th Central Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic 2020–21 24 6 16 2 0 72 108 14 7th East No playoffs were held due to COVID-19 pandemic 2021–22 68 26 35 5 2 181 246 59 4th Central Did not qualify 2022–23 68 31 33 1 3 227 242 66 5th Central Did not qualify 2023–24 68 40 22 4 2 286 239 86 1st Central Lost Eastern Conference semifinal 2024–25 68 35 30 1 2 240 256 73 4th East Lost Eastern Conference quarterfinal 2025–26 68 15 44 4 5 179 326 39 6th East Did not qualify
Championship history
Memorial Cup: 1989 Ed Chynoweth Cup (3): 1988–89, 1992–93, 2017–18 Conference championship (1): 2018 Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy (2): 1988–89, 1992–93 Regular Season Division Champions (6): 1988–89, 1992–93, 1995–96, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2023–24
WHL Championship 1988–89: Win, 4–0 vs Portland Winter Hawks 1992–93: Win, 4–3 vs Portland Winter Hawks 2017–18: Win, 4–2 vs Everett Silvertips
Memorial Cup Championship
1989: Win, 4–3 (OT) vs Saskatoon Blades
Players NHL alumni
Retired numbers The Swift Current Broncos retired the jersey numbers of the four players who died in the 1986 team bus crash. #Player8Trent Kresse9Scott Krueger11Brent Ruff22Chris Mantyka
Coaches
#CoachYears1Graham James1986–19942Todd McLellan1994–20003Brad McEwen2000–20034Randy Smith2003–20045Dean Chynoweth2004–20096Mark Lamb2009–20167Manny Viveiros2016–20188Dean Brockman2018–20219Devan Praught2021–202310Taras McEwen2023–2025 11Dean DeSilva202512Regan Darby†2025–202613Travis Crickard2026-present† Interim coach
Team records + Team records for a single seasonStatisticTotalSeasonMost points1111988–89Most wins551988–89Longest win streak121988–89; 1992–93Longest loss streak 18 2018–19Most goals for4471988–89Fewest goals for1352004–05Fewest goals against1701999–00Most goals against3931986–87
+ Individual player records for a single seasonStatisticPlayerTotalSeasonMost goalsJason Krywulak811992–93Most assistsTerry Ruskowski931973–74Most pointsJason Krywulak1621992–93Most points, rookieJoe Sakic1331986–87Most points, defencemanDan Lambert1021988–89Best GAA (goalie)Bryce Wandler2.061999–2000 Goalies = minimum 1500 minutes played +Career recordsStatisticPlayerTotalCareerMost goalsTodd Holt2161989–1994Most assistsDan Lambert2441986–1990Most pointsTodd Holt4231989–1994Most penalty minutesTiger Williams8541971–1974Most games playedBrent Twordik3421997–2002Most saves (goalie)Kyle Moir6,1262002–2007Most minutes (goalie)Kyle Moir12,7922002–2007
Awards
Bob Clarke Trophy (WHL top scorer) Joe Sakic: 1987–88 (tied with Theoren Fleury, Moose Jaw Warriors) Jason Krywulak: 1992–93 Sergei Varlamov: 1997–98 Tyler Redenbach: 2003–04 Four Broncos Memorial Trophy (WHL player of the year) Joe Sakic (2): 1986–87 (East Division winner), 1987–88 Jason Krywulak: 1992–93 Sergei Varlamov: 1997–98 Adam Lowry: 2012–13 Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy (WHL rookie of the year) Joe Sakic: 1986–87 (East Division winner) Ashley Buckberger: 1991–92