ESTEVAN — Caleb Potter has become very familiar with the route from Swift Current to Estevan in the past couple of years.
The Eagle Sky Estevan Bruins are hoping to see a lot more of Potter going forward.
Potter, an 18-year-old defenceman from Regina, has split the last two seasons between the Bruins and the Swift Current Broncos of the Western Hockey League (WHL). He started the 2024-25 season with Swift Current and was reassigned to Estevan just before the WHL trade deadline.
He again started the 2025-26 campaign with Swift Current. He was sent to the Bruins prior to the Christmas break, rejoined the Broncos after Christmas and was returned to Estevan prior to the trade deadline. He then suffered an injury that sidelined him for a few weeks, but is back in the lineup and helped the Bruins win his first two games back.
“Our group’s awesome this year. We have a really good team, and I think we can do some damage in the playoffs coming up soon,” said Potter.
He added this year’s Bruins squad is a more competitive club than what they had last season.
“Both years the guys have been great, but I think this year there is a little more commitment and determination to win some hockey games,” he said.
The general manager in Swift Current, Chad Leslie, is well known to a lot of Bruins fans from his time as a player and then as a coach and interim GM in Estevan. Potter said Leslie had lots of good things to say about Estevan.
“Chad said it’s a good place. They have a good coach and they have a good community there, so I felt confident coming here.”
Current Bruins head coach and GM Drew Kocur also spent a lot of time talking to Potter about coming to Estevan.
The first thing that many fans would notice about Potter is his skating. He said he has taken a lot of power-skating classes in the summer, and he trains with Dave Schultz, the father of highly touted prospect Maddox Schultz, to get better.
Potter said it was important for the club to get a couple of wins. They ended an eight-game losing skid with a 4-3 victory Feb. 14 in Yorkton over the Terriers. The decision also snapped the Terriers’ eight-game winning streak. Then the Bruins beat the Nipawin Hawks 5-2 the following day in Estevan.
Potter said the team was down prior to the wins, and they’re now more engaged as they battle to get a playoff spot.
“I just thought the boys were a little more competitive. We had a little more pace to our game. Obviously, we have a very high-skilled forward group, and I think when we use that to our advantage, we can do some damage.”
It was tough to be out of the lineup while the club was struggling, but Potter wanted to be back to full health before returning.
Up next for the Bruins will be a northern road trip that will take them to Nipawin on Feb. 20, the Warman Wolverines Feb. 21 and the Battlefords North Stars the following day. Estevan (23-21-2-1) is tied for sixth in the standings with 49 points; the top eight teams make the playoffs.
