Broncos, Winterhawks complete multi-player trade Wednesday

The Swift Current Broncos have acquired local defenceman Ryan McCleary in a multi-player deal with the Portland Winterhawks.

The Clubs announced the transaction Wednesday afternoon. The Broncos also receive a sixth round selection in the 2027 WHL Prospects Draft and conditional picks while in return, the Winterhawks receive forwards Josh Davies and Tyson Yaremko.

McCleary, 19, joins his hometown Swift Current Broncos having spent the past three seasons with Portland. In 2022-23, he set career highs with 13 goals and 31 points over his 66 games played, adding a goal and a helper through nine post-season appearances.

Originally selected by the Winterhawks in the fifth round of the 2018 WHL Draft, McCleary has totalled 68 points (21G-47A) from his 147 career regular season outings.

“It’s always difficult to move a player of Ryan’s caliber, but we were fortunate enough to have four capable 20-year-olds this year,” said Winterhawks general manager and head coach Mike Johnston. “Ryan has improved significantly over three years with our club and has a great future ahead of him.”

“We are excited to add Ryan to our group,” said Broncos general manager Chad Leslie. “Ryan’s progression over the past few years has been impressive and we feel he is poised to have a career year at home.”

Davies, who hails from Airdrie, Alta., is coming off a 2022-23 campaign that saw him reach the 20-goal mark for the first time in his WHL career. He finished the regular season with 34 points from 62 games played.

The 19-year-old forward was selected by the Florida Panthers in the sixth round of the 2022 NHL Draft and since being originally selected by Swift Current in the third round of the 2019 WHL Draft, Davies has totalled 79 points (42G-37A) in 149 career WHL games.

He made his professional debut this past spring with the Charlotte Checkers of the American Hockey League.

Yaremko, who turned 18 years of age Tuesday, was a fourth-round selection by the Broncos in the 2020 WHL Prospects Draft. He made his WHL debut at Medicine Hat on March 5, 2022.

“We feel that both Davies and Yaremko will add substantial depth to our forward group and make us very competitive for the 2023-24 season,” said Johnston.

This past season, the product of Saskatoon, Sask. finished second among scoring leaders with the Saskatoon Blazers, recording 63 points (21G-42A) in 41 games as his Blazers side won the SMAAAHL championship.

The Winterhawks have acquired Florida Panthers draft pick Josh Davies and forward Tyson Yaremko from the Swift Current Broncos in exchange for defenseman Ryan McCleary, a sixth-round draft pick in 2027 and four conditional picks.

Welcome to Portland, @davejd11 & @yaremko_tyson!

— Portland Winterhawks (@pdxwinterhawks) August 9, 2023

We have acquired 2003-born defenceman Ryan McCleary, a cond. 2025 6th round pick, a cond. 2027 5th round pick, and a 2027 6th round pick from the Portland Winterhawks in exchange for Josh Davies and Tyson Yaremko.

📰: https://t.co/tVbIdlBBri pic.twitter.com/LKSb6IJkVD

— Swift Current Broncos (@SCBroncos) August 9, 2023