The Humboldt Broncos are a Canadian junior "A" ice hockey team from Humboldt, Saskatchewan. Established in 1970, the Broncos play in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. The Broncos have won the SJHL ten times (1972, 1973, 1986, 1987, 1989, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012) while winning the ANAVET Cup seven times to advance to the Centennial Cup (the national championship of junior A ice hockey), which they have won on two occasions in 2003 and 2008.
History
The Broncos were established in 1970 by a group of local organizers. The team was originally affiliated with the Swift Current Broncos of the Western Hockey League, who supplied the team with team name, jerseys and some players. They also had a close affiliation that year with St Peter's College in nearby Muenster. The Broncos originally played at the Leo Parker Arena and then move into the new Elgar Petersen Arena since 1980, which has a capacity of 1,800. The team also won the 2003 and 2008 Royal Bank Cup (Canadian Junior A championship). The team's mascot is a horse named SlapShot. The team colours are green, gold black and white.
The Broncos are the most successful team in SJHL history, having won the league championship ten times, the Anavet Cup/Canalta Cup seven times, and the Royal Bank Cup twice.
In very early years under the guidance of Coach Dr. Terry Henning and GM Dr. Gerry Rooney in 1971–72, the Broncos defeated the Melville Millionaires in 5 games to win their first SJHL Championship and then went on to defeat the Dauphin Kings in 6 games to win the Anavet/Canalta Cup (Sk vs Man); eventually losing in 5 games to the Red Deer Rustlers in the Centennial Cup West Final. In 1972–73, the Broncos again were again Saskatchewan provincial Junior A champions. The Broncos were eliminated by Portage La Prairie in the controversial SK-MB cup playoffs.
The Humboldt Broncos won the league championship in 2007, defeating the Melville Millionaires 4 games to 1. The Broncos lost the Anavet Cup to the MJHL's Selkirk Steelers 4 games to 3. Game 7 was won by the Steelers 4–3 in quadruple overtime. Dean Brockman was voted Coach of the Year in 2007, 2008, and 2009.
The Humboldt Broncos won the league/Royal Bank championship twice, in 2003 and as well in 2008, defeating the Kindersley Klippers 4 games to 3. The Broncos won the Anavet Cup defeating the MJHL's Portage Terriers 4 games to 0. The last two games of the series were shutouts for the Broncos. The Broncos won the Royal Bank Cup against the AJHL's Camrose Kodiaks the final score: 1–0.
The Humboldt Broncos won the league championship in 2009 defeating the Melville Millionaires 4 games to 1. The Broncos won the Anavet Cup defeating the Portage Terriers (MJHL) 4 games to 3. The last 2 games were won in overtime at Portage. The Broncos lost in the Royal Bank Cup final by a 2–0 score to the Vernon Vipers BCHL.
The Broncos won the SJHL championship in 2011–12 defeating the Weyburn Red Wings in six games. They went on to beat the Portage Terriers (MJHL) in seven games to win the last Anavet Cup Championship before losing to the Woodstock Slammers (MIJHL) on home ice in the 2012 RBC Cup semi-final 4–3 in overtime.
In 2012–13 the Broncos made it back to the SJHL finals where they lost to the Yorkton Terriers in six games losing 4–3 in the sixth game.
After the 2013–14 season longtime head coach Dean Brockman left the team to take a job as an assistant coach with the Saskatoon Blades of the Western Hockey League. The Broncos eventually hired Ryan Smith (who was the head coach of the Selkirk Steelers of the MJHL) as head coach.
In 2014–15, the Broncos lost to the Weyburn Red Wings in four games in the first round. After the season Smith left the team to take an assistant coaching position with the Swift Current Broncos of the Western Hockey League. The Broncos eventually hired Darcy Haugen (who was the head coach of The Peace River Navigators of the Alberta Junior B League and a former assistant coach with the Estevan Bruins) as head coach.
In 2015–16, the Broncos missed the playoffs for the first time since the 1979–80 season, marking the end of a playoff streak longer than the Detroit Red Wings' then active streak of 25 years.
In 2016–17, the Broncos finished 5th overall in the SJHL Standings but were swept by the Nipawin Hawks in the opening round of the SJHL playoffs.
Bus crash
In 2018, the Broncos had advanced to the SJHL semi-finals, but were trailing in the series against the Nipawin Hawks by 3–1 heading into Game 5 on April 6. En route to the game, truck driver Jaskirat Singh Sidhu, 36, drove through a stop sign at over 100 km/h, colliding with the Broncos' team bus on Highway 35 near Armley. The local RCMP reported 16 fatalities as a result of the accident, and the game was cancelled. The victims included 10 players, two coaches, a statistician, a broadcaster, the bus driver, and an athletic therapist. The remaining passengers, 13 players, received injuries, most of them serious. The president of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League, Bill Chow, has described the incident as tragic, heart-breaking, the league's "worst nightmare."
In December 2018, the Broncos were named the Canadian Newsmaker of the Year by the Canadian Press.
In their first game of the 2018–19 season following the crash, the Broncos lost to the team they had been playing in the finals, the Nipawin Hawks, by a score of 2–1. The game had pre-game and post-game ceremonies for all members involved in the crash. The Broncos qualified for the playoffs that season, but were eliminated in the second round.
The Broncos were in a position to qualify for the playoffs in the 2019–20 season, but the remainder of the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Season-by-season standings
The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) was called the Saskatchewan Amateur Junior Hockey League (SAJHL) until the end of the 1972–73 season.
Season GP W L T OTL GF GA P Results Playoffs1970–71 36 22 14 0 - 258 175 44 4th SJHL Lost to Weyburn in Semi-final1971–72 44 32 12 0 - 269 169 53 1st SJHL Won League Championship1972–73 48 29 19 0 - 242 171 58 2nd SJHL North Won League Championship1973–74 50 25 24 2 - 259 226 52 4th SJHL North1974–75 57 25 30 2 - 281 258 52 5th SJHL North1975–76 58 30 25 3 - 272 246 63 3rd SJHL North1976–77 60 20 38 2 - 235 325 42 4th SJHL North1977–78 60 34 25 1 - 300 269 69 3rd SJHL North1978–79 60 31 25 4 - 297 270 66 3rd SJHL North1979–80 60 23 37 0 - 275 351 46 4th SJHL North DNQ1980–81 60 39 19 2 - 413 291 80 2nd SJHL North1981–82 60 30 27 3 - 327 280 63 4th SJHL North Lost quarter-final1982–83 64 36 26 2 - 297 235 74 3rd SJHL Lost 1st round1983–84 64 23 40 1 - 279 317 47 8th SJHL Lost 1st round1984–85 64 35 25 4 - 327 232 74 5th SJHL Lost quarter-final1985–86 60 56 4 0 - 469 170 112 1st SJHL Won League1986–87 64 55 9 0 - 454 223 110 1st SJHL Won League, lost in MCC (Sockeyes)1987–88 60 51 7 2 - 370 178 104 2nd SJHL1988–89 64 48 15 1 - 397 270 97 1st SJHL Won League, won Anavet Cup1989–90 68 52 14 2 - 352 267 106 1st SJHL Lost quarter-final1990–91 68 45 20 3 - 351 267 93 1st SJHL North Lost final1991–92 64 37 26 1 - 284 266 75 2nd SJHL North Lost semi-final1992–93 64 32 25 7 - 251 251 71 3rd SJHL North Lost semi-final1993–94 68 37 25 6 - 273 251 80 3rd SJHL North Lost quarter-final1994–95 64 21 35 8 - 236 286 50 5th SJHL North Lost 1st round1995–96 64 25 32 7 - 194 220 57 4th SJHL North Lost quarter-final1996–97 64 24 32 8 - 202 231 56 5th SJHL North Lost 1st round1997–98 64 31 24 9 - 245 242 71 4th SJHL North Lost 1st round1998–99 66 35 28 3 - 248 251 73 3rd SJHL North Lost final1999-00 60 28 25 7 - 203 224 63 4th SJHL North Lost semi-final2000–01 62 29 25 6 6 208 217 66 4th SJHL Dodge Lost quarter-final2001–02 64 38 17 5 4 248 184 85 2nd SJHL Sherwood Lost final2002–03 60 39 12 6 3 254 191 87 1st SJHL Won League, won AC, won RBC2003–04 60 35 14 10 1 214 151 81 1st SJHL Lost semi-final2004–05 55 27 23 2 3 176 164 59 4th SJHL Sherwood Lost quarter-final2005–06 55 18 28 3 6 146 201 45 5th SJHL Sherwood Lost 1st round2006–07 58 41 14 0 3 241 173 85 1st SJHL Itech Won League, lost Anavet Cup (Selkirk Steelers) 4–32007–08 58 48 9 - 1 235 113 97 1st SJHL Won League, won AC, won RBC2008–09 56 45 8 - 3 249 130 93 1st SJHLWon League, won Anavet Cup2009–10 58 24 26 - 8 160 179 56 9th SJHL Lost Preliminary (La Ronge Ice Wolves) 3–02010–11 58 33 24 - 1 216 198 67 5th SJHL Lost quarter-final (Melfort Mustangs) 4–22011–12 58 42 11 - 5 240 145 89 1st SJHL Won League, won Anavet Cup2012–13 54 36 14 - 2 185 120 76 T-1st SJHL Lost in SJHL Final 2–4 (Yorkton Terriers)2013–14 56 31 20 - 1 146 132 67 6th SJHL Lost in 2nd round 1–4 (Yorkton Terriers)2014–15 56 24 25 - 7 152 163 55 4th of 4 Vittera8th of 12 SJHL Lost Wildcard, 1–3 (Weyburn Red Wings)2015–16 58 17 36 4 1 165 245 39 4th of 4 Finning11th of 12 SJHL DNQ2016–17 58 31 25 1 1 178 178 64 2nd of 4 Finning5th of 12 SJHL Lost quarterfinals, 0–4 (Nipawin Hawks)2017–18 58 33 19 3 3 203 165 72 2nd of 4 Global Ag 5th of 12 SJHL Won quarterfinals, 4–1 (Melfort Mustangs)*Semifinals, 1–3 trailing (Nipawin Hawks)2018–19 58 35 19 3 1 189 177 74 3rd of 4 Finning5th of 12 SJHL Lost quarter-finals, 3–4 (Estevan Bruins)2019–20 58 28 21 7 2 219 206 65 2nd of 4 Finning7th of 12 SJHL Lost quarter-finals, 0–4 (Flin Flon Bombers)2020–21 6 5 1 0 0 19 9 10 Cancelled due to COVID-19 Pandemic2021–22 58 45 13 0 0 249 128 90 1st of 4 Finning2nd of 12 SJHL Won quarter-finals, 4–2 (La Ronge Ice Wolves)Lost semifinals 1–4 (Flin Flon Bombers)2022–23 56 40 15 1 0 232 176 81 2nd of 4 Finning2nd of 12 SJHL Won quarter-finals, 4–1 (Nipawin Hawks)Lost Semifinals 1–4 (Flin Flon Bombers)2023–24 56 37 15 3 1 250 169 78 1st of 4 Nutrien3rd of 12 SJHL Won quarter-finals, 4–3 (Weyburn Red Wings)Lost, Semifinals 3–4 (Melfort Mustangs)2024–25 56 28 22 3 3 204 172 62 2nd of 4 Nutrien7th of 12 SJHL Lost quarter-finals, 2–4 (Flin Flon Bombers)
Playoffs 1971 Lost final Humboldt Broncos defeated Saskatoon Olympics 4-games-to-3 Weyburn Red Wings defeated Humboldt Broncos 4-games-to-1 1972 Won Provincial League Championship, won Man/Sask championship, lost Centennial West Final/Abbott Cup Humboldt Broncos defeated Estevan Bruins 4-games-to-none Humboldt Broncos defeated Saskatoon Olympics 4-games-to-none Humboldt Broncos defeated Melville Millionaires 4-games-to-1 SAJHL CHAMPIONS Humboldt Broncos defeated Dauphin Kings (MJHL) 4-games-to-2 MAN/SASK CHAMPIONS Red Deer Rustlers (AJHL) defeated Humboldt Broncos 4-games-to-1 1973 Won League, lost Man/Sask championship Humboldt Broncos defeated Melville Millionaires 4-games-to-2 Humboldt Broncos defeated Prince Albert Raiders 4-games-to-none Humboldt Broncos defeated Estevan Bruins 4-games-to-2 SAJHL CHAMPIONS Portage Terriers (MJHL) defeated Humboldt Broncos 3-games-to-2; Humboldt forfeits due to Portage players' roughhouse physical tactics 1974 Lost quarter-final Prince Albert Raiders defeated Humboldt Broncos 4-games-to-none 1975 DNQ 1976 Lost quarter-final Swift Current Broncos defeated Humboldt Broncos 4-games-to-2 1977 Lost quarter-final Prince Albert Raiders defeated Humboldt Broncos 4-games-to-none 1978 Lost quarter-final Swift Current Broncos defeated Humboldt Broncos 4-games-to-none 1979 Lost quarter-final Swift Current Broncos defeated Humboldt Broncos 4-games-to-3 1980 DNQ 1981 Lost semi-final Humboldt Broncos defeated Swift Current Broncos 4-games-to-none Prince Albert Raiders defeated Humboldt Broncos 4-games-to-none 1982 Lost quarter-final Prince Albert Raiders defeated Humboldt Broncos 4-games-to-none 1983 Lost quarter-final Moose Jaw Canucks defeated Humboldt Broncos 4-games-to-none 1984 Lost quarter-final Yorkton Terriers defeated Humboldt Broncos 4-games-to-1 1985 Lost semi-final Humboldt Broncos defeated Swift Current Indians 4-games-to-2 Weyburn Red Wings defeated Humboldt Broncos 4-games-to-none 1986 Won League, lost Anavet Cup Humboldt Broncos defeated Yorkton Terriers 4-games-to-none