If you can't beat them, trade for them?

That seems to be the mentality for the Everett Silvertips who have now acquired three members of the 2018 WHL Champion Swift Current Broncos. Swift Current beat Everett in the last season's WHL Championship Series.

After adding Sahvan Khaira and Artyom Minulin in previous deals, the Silvertips picked up veteran forward Max Patterson from the Broncos today. 

The rebuilding Broncos leveraged another veteran for a 2020 fourth-round bantam draft pick and 16-year-old forward Dawson Springer.

Head coach and Director of Hockey Operations Dean Brockman spoke on the deal: 

The pick is guaranteed, but Springer has yet to be signed to a WHL contract. The Yorkton product is having an impressive Midget AAA season with the Prince Albert Mintos. He has 18 goals and 7 assists in 21 games.

Springer has scored in 13 of the 21 Mintos games and leads the league in goals. He was third in the Saskatchewan Midget AA league last season with 35 goals in 36 games.

“I like to score. It’s my favourite to do,” Spring told Jeff D'Andrea of PA Now.

Springer scored 22 goals in 30 games as a 13-year-old in Bantam AA. He spent his 14-year-old season in the CSSBHL AAA league playing for Notre Dame where he put up 9 goals and 7 assists in 30 games on a stacked Hounds roster that had five current CHL or Junior A players ahead of him among leading scorers.

Patterson had requested a trade in the midst of a career year offensively. His 8 goals through 27 games is only one off his career high and 19 points is only four off his best full season total. He led the Broncos in both categories.

“Lately I'm just trying to take pucks to the net and create scoring chances,” Patterson noted in a pre-game interview on Saturday. “Score some goals and help the team win.”

Swift Current acquired the 6'5" Kamloops product from Kootenay before last season in exchange for goaltender Bailey Brkin and a conditional 5th round bantam draft pick. He played all 72 regular season games and contributed 24 points.

Patterson then added 5 goals and 2 assists in Swift Current's 26 game run to the Ed Chynoweth Cup. His most memorable moment as a Bronco may have been the go-ahead goal against Regina in the seventh game of their first round battle.

“These fans are as good as any in the league,” Patterson noted on Saturday. “It's an awesome experience when they're yelling and cheering for us loud. Especially in the playoffs last year.”

Both Minulin and Khaira are having success with Everett so far as the Silvertips sit on top of the US Division. Minulin has 7 assists in 13 games and is a +10, while Khaira has 13 points in 30 games as is a +11.

The Broncos received 19-year-old forward Ethan O'Rourke and a 2020 3rd round bantam draft pick for Khaira. Minulin was traded with an 8th round pick in 2021 for 17-year-old defenceman Alex Moar.

In multiple trades since the summer the Broncos have accumulated a 3rd and 4th round pick in 2019 to go with 2nd, 3rd and 4th round picks in 2020. 

Swift Current will be back in action at home on Tuesday against the league leading Prince Albert Raiders.