Three Trades and Two Points

The day before the WHL trade deadline proved to be one of the busiest trading days for the Broncos in recent memory. Sandwich that in with an important road game in Regina against the rival Pats and you have one heck of a Friday.

The Broncos finished the day with three trades and two points after handing the Pats their 6th straight loss with a 5-3 win at the Brandt Center. A short recap will follow.

The Broncos announced a pair of trades following tonight’s game. The first was a deal with the Pats that will see Jesse Dudas fill their vacant 20 year-old spot in exchange for a 4th round bantam pick.

The other deal was the acquisition of 18 year-old goaltender Morgan Clark from the Red Deer Rebels in exchange for a 5th round bantam pick in 2010.

The move to acquire another goaltender will almost certainly lead to another move in that department before the deadline. The Broncos appear to be on the verge of trading away Travis Yonkman and Mark Guggenberger. Stay tuned.

The early trade of the day saw a swap of 18 year-old forwards with the Chilliwack Bruins - the Broncos getting Liam Darragh in exchange for Matt Ius as reported earlier.

So let’s look at the three trades:

Dudas to the Pats for a 4th rounder: The Broncos hands were tied a little in this one and they had to make a move to get down to three overage players. The Pats showed a lot of interest throughout even though his stock was dropping faster than the stock market. The Pats get a player with the ability to be possibly their best defenseman – top two for sure. He does come with a few knocks including being prone to injury and some off-ice issues. The fact this is Jesse’s 4th team says something. Regardless he’s a good pick up for the Pats and a player in which I respect his ability immensely.

The Broncos get decent value out of Dudas considering he failed to report after Christmas. They nearly faced the possibility of releasing him so I think a 4th rounder is a fair deal – it was about a round or two higher than I was expecting.

Morgan Clark to the Broncos for a 5th round pick: The Broncos are high on the 18 year-old goaltender out of Red Deer and look like they have made the move so they can deal either Travis Yonkman or Mark Guggenberger.

Although I love this duo in goal, its two veterans that deserve to both start. I may be bias but the Broncos may have the two of the top three goaltenders in the Conference. Wait and see on this one. Moving Yonkman would free up a 20 year-old spot for the Broncos to add a veteran forward or defenseman. Something has to be said though for finishing your career in a Broncos jersey. Yonks has been an outstanding citizen and has developed into a premiere ‘tender. That’s why teams around the league have been calling Dean Chynoweth inquiring about his services.

Matt Ius for Liam Darragh: It appears to be a swap of scenery for the two big-bodied forwards. With family matters keeping Ius at home, Chilliwack is the closest destination for him to go. Liam Darragh comes in at 6’4, 200 lbs and impressed me in his first game as a Bronco tonight. He assisted on the Broncos first goal and had a pretty good tilt with the Pats Colten Teubert that took the World Junior defenseman out of the game for 17 minutes after he drew an instigator and misconduct.

Darragh held his own and can throw pretty good left to boot. He was our unsung hero tonight on our post-game show. Solid debut. He’s a big, strapping lad who I think Bronco fans will like.

What will tomorrow bring?

The Broncos scored five unanswered goals en-route to a 5-3 win over the Regina Pats at the Brandt Center.

The Broncos trailed 2-0 in the 1st until Jan Dalecky scored on a left wing shot to get the Broncos on the board.

Eric Doyle added a goal on a top circle shot that went off the post and in to tie the game in the 2nd period.

Matt Tassone scored on a nice 2-on-1 with Keegan Dansereau to give the Broncos their first lead of the game 5:03 into the 2nd period.

The Broncos finally cashed in on their 6th powerplay of the game on a Spencer McAvoy screened shot from the mid-point.

Moments later Geordie Wudrick scored on another powerplay after Cody Eakin picked the puck up from a downed Linden Rowat in the Pats goal and fed Wudrick to give the Broncos a 5-2 lead heading into the third.

The Broncos dodged a 5-on-3 bullet early in the third and kept their three-goal lead until 7:53 to play when Jordan Eberle scored on a short-handed breakaway.

The Pats had a flurry of chances in the final minutes but Yonkman was there for some big saves down the stretch.

The Pats pulled their goaltender for nearly the final three minutes but the Broncos skated away with a 5-3 win to pull to 2-2 in the New Year.

The loss was Regina’s 6th in a row and temporarily booted them out of a playoff spot and into 9th in the Conference with both Edmonton and Prince Albert winning tonight.

Extras:

- What a roar for Jordan Eberle in the pre-game ceremony tonight. Pats fans welcomed the semi-final hero home with a well-deserved standing ovation. This kid is the real deal on and off the ice.

- What a gong show in the third period with the Brandt Center scoreclock. There was nearly a ten-minute delay before they gave up with the frozen screen and decided to use a stopwatch for about a 10-minute stretch. This was the third problem with the clock in the game – or was it a problem with the operators?

- The Broncos kept their own time and there was a bit of discrepancy according to Assistant Coach Tim Kehler in our post-game coaches show. “I think we played 60 minutes plus tonight there’s no doubt,” commented Kehler.

Should be a fun and busy day tomorrow… check back for the latest.


Jon