The Swift Current Broncos have signed promising American forward Brock Burch.
They picked the Iowa product in the 11th round of the 2024 WHL Draft.
"He was identified by Troy, one of my scouts," said Broncos General Manager Chad Leslie. "Then we just looked at him closely and felt really strongly about him. Then just worked on them and started to build a relationship with him and the family. Terrific people. Just really enjoyed Brock and his family. They came up in the fall. They got to see Swift Current and see what our fan base was like and how passionate the town is about hockey. It was such a positive experience for him that we were able to sign him."
Swift Current picked Burch in the 11th round of the 2024 draft. Leslie feels the NCAA eligibility rule change helped open the door to Burch coming north.
"I think that this has become an option for players," Leslie noted. "Brock is a is a high-end player like he was just outside of the development team there. Then obviously had a great OHL Cup just recently and really drummed a lot of interest up for himself. It's a huge signing for us. Not only just with the caliber of the player, but the character of the player and the family. I think that if we do our job well and continue to focus on developing and bringing these young players in and selling them on Swift Current I think that it's just the start of it for us."
The Iowa native had 23 points for the Little Caesars 15U AAA team in Detroit. He added 6 points in 9 OHL Cup games.
"He talked about being a little bit of a Brendan Gallagher," Leslie said. "I like that. He's right-handed. He's competitive. He loves competing. He absorbs physicality to be in some high traffic areas to produce. He can score his catch and release is really good. There's a little Brendan. Gallagher there, there's a little Oliver Tulk there.
"The one thing about Brock is his viewings are very consistent. You pretty much get the same effort to same player from him night and night out. We really like that."
Leslie expects the 15-year-old to compete for a roster spot in the fall.
Watch Swift Current Online for comments from Burch this afternoon.