The Swift Current Broncos made two trades this morning as Tuesday's WHL's trade deadline approaches.

The Broncos acquired 2002-born defenceman Mason Ward from the Brandon Wheat Kings in exchange for 2003-born defenceman Kayden Sadhra-Kang. In a separate deal, the Broncos picked up 2002-born forward Drew Englot from the Everett Silvertips for 2002-born forward Raphael Pelletier and a second-round draft pick in 2024.

Ward, originally a listed player by the Red Deer Rebels, has spent the past two seasons with the Wheat Kings after being traded ahead of the 2021-22 season.

“Mason makes us harder to play against,” said Broncos general manager Chad Leslie. “He is a big guy that moves well, makes a good first pass and can contribute in a number of different ways. We are excited to add a guy to our backend with the game experience that he has in the league.”

This season Ward has skated in 30 of Brandon’s 38 games recording 10 points (4-6-10) and racking up 70 penalty minutes. Over his WHL career, split between Red Deer and Brandon, The 6' 5" Ward has recorded 40 points (13-27-40) in 154 games along with 235 penalty minutes.

Sadhra-Kang, from Richmond, B.C., was acquired by the Broncos from the Lethbridge Hurricanes early in the 2021-22 season and played 90 games for Swift Current, scoring 23 points (4-19-23).

“Kayden has done a terrific job with us during his time here,” added Leslie. “He has gotten himself to the point where he plays reliable minutes, contributes in numerous situations and helped us get to where we are today. He is a terrific teammate and will be missed. We wish him all the best.”

Englot, from Candiac, Sask., was originally a fourth-round pick of the Lethbridge Hurricanes in the 2017 WHL Prospects Draft. He began his WHL career in Regina during the 2019-20 season before being traded to the Kamloops Blazers last year.

“We’re excited to add Drew to our team,” Leslie added. “He’s a quality individual that brings size, compete, playoff experience and leadership to our group. He can take some heavy minutes off our young players who have carried the load to this point.”

Englot played 34 games for the Blazers this season, scoring 14 points (3-11-14) while winning 54.7 per cent of his faceoffs. He was traded to the Silvertips in the deal that saw Olen Zellweger move to Kamloops. Through 180 career games, split between Regina and Kamloops, the 6’2’’, 198-pound Englot has scored 76 points (31-45-76). He helped the Blazers reach the Western Conference Final last season, adding nine points (3-6-9) in 17 games.

Pelletier, from Legal, Alta., was acquired from the Edmonton Oil Kings in September 2019. He played in 162 games with the Broncos over the past four seasons, amassing 90 points (37-53-90).

“Moving Raphael is a very difficult thing to do,” added Leslie. “He has been here for a long time and has been a major contributor on and off the ice, while we were going through a tough rebuild. He played a big part in rebuilding our culture. He will be missed and we wish him all the best.”

Both Ward and Englot are expected to be in the lineup on Tuesday when the Broncos welcome the Medicine Hat Tigers.