By  Elizabeth Huber /

“John, congrats! U R the newest Bronco!”

It isn’t the exact message, but it’s an example of how one player found out he was traded to the Swift Current Broncos.

As the WHL trade deadline approached, John Negrin of the Kootenay Ice knew he was going to move. But, he never expected the first indication to come via a social 
networking site.

“It was actually a funny story,” the 6-0, 190-pound D-man chuckled in an interview before his first practice with Swift Current.

“I said, ‘I don’t think so,’ and about five minutes later, I had a call from my GM saying I was.”

The 2007 second-round Calgary Flames draftee was added to the roster alongside teammate Michael Stickland, 19.

To acquire two veteran players and give the age demographic of the team a boost, the Broncos moved out young forward Christian Magnus, 16, and d-man James Martin, 17, with second- and fourth-round 2010 Bantam Draft Picks.

“We felt we needed to address the experience of our group,” said Broncos GM/head coach Dean Chynoweth.

“John Negrin is a guy that can log a lot of minutes, he can play in all situations,” Chynoweth added.

Negrin already boasts an ‘A’ under the team captain Derek Claffey and is looking forward to the challenge.

Stickland will also add more strength and depth to the team. As a veteran player, and a top-six forward, the 5-11 180-pound skater will allow more flexibility on power plays and penalty kills, remarked Chynoweth.

The Broncos also picked up Liam Darragh, 19, from the Chilliwack Bruins in exchange for Mathew Ius, who joined the Broncos earlier in the year.

“Ius was not necessarily working out due to family matters. At least we were able to get him back closer to home to be around his family,” explained Chynoweth.

The ability to get the bigger-bodied 6-4, 200-pound Darragh in return for Ius was a blessing since the Broncos’ 6-5, 205-pound Grant Toulmin was re-assigned.

A less than ideal deal was worked out for Jesse Dudas, 20. After recovering from a knee injury, Dudas never reported back to the team. He now plays with the rival Regina Pats in exchange for a fourth-round 2010 draft pick.

If the trade deadline wasn’t active enough, Chynoweth still had to deal with the situation of having two No. 1 goaltenders.

Mark Guggenberger, 19, and Travis Yonkman, 20, spent the first half of the season rotating through the net.

“Both guys wanted to be number one...I think we needed to explore the opportunity for them to get (more consistent play) and for the team to get something in return,” 
said Chynoweth.

On Jan. 10, Guggenberger’s 20th birthday, a deal was cut with Kelowna to move him there in exchange for a conditional fifth-round 2010 draft pick. He will be playing as the Kelowna Rockets’ starting goaltender. When traded from the Broncos, Guggenberger was ranked fifth in the league with a .914 save percentage.

The Broncos also grabbed Morgan Clark from the Red Deer Rebels.

“I wasn’t playing much, as much as I would like and I think that is why I needed a change,” said Clark.