As Tough As It Gets

It's one of the toughest road trips there is the WHL. The Broncos hit up Lethbridge, Red Deer and Calgary this weekend. Three games in three nights all in barns where visitor wins are few and far between. Check out these home ice records:

Lethbridge: 17-6-1-1
Red Deer: 12-1-3-3 (only one regulation loss!)
Calgary 16-7-0-1

So, as you can see the Broncos have their work cut out for them. We'll be on the air at 8pm with the Bronco Big Show Friday night from Lethbridge. We'll break down the deals that were made, one that wasn't and here from the new kid in town Eric Doyle. Hey, Saturday don't miss the pre-game show where we will talk to the General Manager of the Everett Silvertips Doug Soetart. He says some interesting things about Doyle, about their chances and the ultra-tough Western Conference. Doug was spotted many a times in Swift Current the last couple months. Now we know what he was looking at.

Speaking of the Western Conference. How tough is the first round of the playoffs going to be there? Only the BC divisions 1st place team will have a cake-walk in round one. The BC division champ will get either Chilliwack or Kelowna in round one. Bring out the brooms. Other than that. There are good teams in Vancouver, Kamloops, PG (if they get their act together), Everett, Seattle, Spokane, and Tri City.

Flipped open the SW Booster this afternoon. Gotta love a Wednesday afternoon trade deadline. They had one story on the transactions . . . the Craig Cuthbert deal. Nothing else. Can you imagine next Thursday's headlines "Broncos Trade Crowley!" Yawn, old news. That's why I love the blog. It's instant news, updated from anywhere, anytime. I hate to say it but the ol' newspaper is becoming obsolete. I do like what George Bowdich does though for the Prairie Post. Instead of focusing on timely news that gets dated quick, he focuses more on people stories and profiles. That's the way to go in a weekly paper. Don't try to be "scoops" just do what works best.

George should also handle the game previews and Bronco news. It must be tough for PP editor Ryan Dahlman to form an opinion on the Broncos all the way from Medicine Hat. Even if he is on the right track, fans here will never give him the benefit of the doubt because he lives there, reports from there and is never seen here at the rink.

Here some info on the Broncos injury front. Brady Leavold has recovered from sickness and will make the trip. However, he will not play Friday night in Lethbridge. Derek Claffey is feeling better but may also miss Friday's game. Daniel Rakos is MIA after messing up some travel arrangements. Some of the players were joking today that something might have happened to him like in the movie Hostel. I think that movie was based in Slovakia wasn't it? If he hurries, he may get to Lethbridge in time for the game but how effective could he be after what will be severe jet lag? The ankle injury to Kyle Bortis should keep him out of action this weekend. So with that said, expect a couple of young affiliated players to make their Broncos debut this weekend. A kid I liked at training camp out of Calgary Kris Foucalt (16) should see some ice this weekend, maybe even Mike Brown (16) if needed.

Go Broncos,
Jon