With only three games remaining in their regular season, little about the Estevan Bruins immediate future is certain. Even their divisional position is not totally locked in, though they do have a six-point advantage over the Yorkton Terriers, who have only five games remaining. 

If the Bruins succeed in locking down the Viterra Division, which would be their third straight such victory, the only certainty is that they would finish third and face the sixth place team in the opening round of the playoffs. Who that team will be is still very much up in the air. 

"There's no preference," said Bruins head coach and GM Chris Lewgood of potential first round opponents. "If we were to have any sort of deciding factor it would be based on travel. The more rest you can get, the better. But as far as the opponent, we just want to focus on our team and being the best we can be come the first game of playoffs."

As of this writing, there are as many as five potential first round opponents for the Bruins: the Kindersley Klippers, the Flin Flon Bombers, the Humboldt Broncos, the Melfort Mustangs, and the Battlefords North Stars. We'll look at each matchup individually.

Battlefords North Stars

At the time of writing the Bruins have not yet finished their season series with the North Stars. The Bruins play them one final time on Saturday, February 23, and are currently 2-1 against them on the year, and so can do no worse than a season split.

The Bruins have more familiarity, and more animosity, with the North Stars than any other team, stemming from a string of playoff matches.

"We've played them more than any other team besides the Red Wings over the past six years for sure," said Lewgood. "Four playoff meetings in five years and this year there's a very good posibility we see them again. They've become a bit of a unique rivalry."

The North Stars drew first blood in the season series in emphatic fashion, hammering the Bruins 6-1 in September in Battlefords. The Bruins have won the two games since then, however, beating the North Stars 6-4 on November 2nd and 2-1 in a shootout on November 9 in Battlefords. 

The North Stars are led offensively by MacGregor Sinclair, last year's leading returning scorer who's posted 62 points in 51 games. If the playoffs began today, the North Stars would be the Bruins first round opponent.

Flin Flon Bombers

The Bruins had less success against the Bombers, dropping three games in a row against them. They lost a 6-2 match at home on October 14 before playing two close games in Flin Flon, falling 4-2 on October 24 and 1-0 on November 30. The Bruins avoided a season series sweep with a 4-3 win on February 15.

The Bombers represent the furthest travel for the Bruins, and the most offensively intimidating opponent. Six of the Bombers forwards have scored 20 goals or more, and Brandson Hein is second in the league with 41 goals. Two more forwards, Donavan Houle-Villeneuve and Vincent Nardone, are within striking distance of 20 goals as well with 15 and 17 respecitvely. 

As of now, the Bombers sit seventh overall, three points back of Battlefords who has a game in hand. If the Bombers finish seventh, they would move to the survivor series. 

Humboldt Broncos 

The Broncos are the only team in the SJHL to sweep the Bruins this year, winning all four meetings with them. On the one hand, all four meetings happened before the Bruins trimmed their roster down, with the last meeting coming on November 22. On the other hand, the Broncos are the SJHL's hottest team right now, with a 9-1 record over their last ten contests.

Led up front by Michael Clarke and Brayden Camrud with 66 and 52 points respectively, the Broncos boast serious offensive depth, bolstered by late-season acquisition Drew Warkentine. Since coming to Humboldt in a trade, Warkentine has an outstanding 20 goals in 29 games. 

The Broncos whipped the Bruins 6-2 at the showcase on September 25, then won 5-3 in a brutally nasty game at Affinity Place on October 6. The Broncos won the only game of the year at Elgar Petersen Arena in Humboldt by a narrow 3-2 margin, then piled up a 5-1 over the Bruins in Estevan on November 22. 

The Broncos are among the Bruins less likely opponents. As of now, they're battling for first place in the Global Ag Risk Solutions Division. They're tied with Kindersley with 71 points, but the Klippers hold two games in hand. If the playoffs began today, Humboldt would see a rematch of last year's first round against the Melfort Mustangs.

"There's no easy route this year in the SJHL," Lewgood said. "Sometimes that's better. If you're playing a weaker team and they're not pushing you to the max then you're not as prepared for the next round when you do see a stronger team. Whoever comes out of the SJHL this year is going to have an amazing run and it's a test for three rounds really.