Swift Current Broncos Head Coach Dean DeSilva has resigned effectively immediately.
DeSilva was suspended by the Western Hockey League last week for an on-ice incident at practice. The league announced today that he had been suspended for five games and the club was fined $10,000 for two separate incidents that were in breach of WHL Standards of Conduct. One incident occurred during a game in Prince Albert on Oct. 25 and the second at a practice on Oct. 27.
“Following careful consideration, it was mutually determined that in the best interest of both Dean and the organization, this is the right path forward,” said Chad Leslie, General Manager. “The Swift Current Broncos are committed to providing a positive environment for all players.”
The Broncos had a similar situation only two years ago when Head Coach Devan Praught was suspended for an on-ice incident in practice before he and the team mutually parted ways in November of 2023.
“I think the fact that the organization and its history, we’re held to a higher standard and accountability,” said Leslie. “It’s something that we take very seriously and we are not going to sweep anything under the rug. We’re going to look at everything and deal with it appropriately. It did obviously influence the fact that it is something that we’ve had happen before, the reality of it is it is no different in the regard of how serious it was and had to be given the respect it was needed.”
Regan Darby will assume the role of Head Coach on an interim basis until further notice.
“Regan will be the interim head coach for the time being. We will be conducting a search and have had some people reach out to me already, so that process is underway and we will make sure we’re taking our time with it to come to the right decision for our organization,” said Leslie.
Leslie said that the players had been keep up to date through the process.
“Yeah contact all the time. Obviously the most important thing for us moving forward is the pulse of the room and the comfort level of our staff and our players in this time. It’s obviously a difficult situation. A lot of those players have never been in a situation like this before, so we’ve handled it very well in regards to making sure that they are looked after, cared for. I will continually check to see how they’re feeling because ultimately it’s our responsibility to look after them and right now we’re in a situation where we have five 19 and 20-year-olds on the roster, we’re a very young team.”
