Swift Current Broncos head coach Devan Praught suspended indefinitely

The Western Hockey League’s Swift Current Broncos have indefinitely suspended head coach Devan Praught for an alleged violation of the league’s standards of conduct.

Praught, 36, is alleged to have violated league rules on the ice during the Broncos’ team practice on Monday. Assistant coach Taras McEwen will serve as head coach during Praught’s suspension.

The Broncos currently occupy ninth place in the WHL’s Eastern Conference with a 9–9–1 record and 19 points through 19 games this season.

Praught is in his second full year as head coach of the Broncos after taking over on an interim basis midway through the 2021–22 season, which he had started as an assistant coach under Dean Brockman.

The Broncos currently have four NHL prospects on their roster: forwards Josh Filmon (New Jersey Devils) and Connor Hvidston (Anaheim Ducks), defenseman Owen Pickering (Pittsburgh Penguins), and goaltender Reid Dyck (Boston Bruins).

Praught is not the first WHL head coach to be suspended this season for alleged violations of the standards of conduct. Back in October, the Wenatchee Wild suspended and later fired veteran coach Kevin Constantine over allegations that he made “derogatory comments of a discriminatory nature” to one of his players.

There has been a wave of scrutiny about outdated coaching methods since Mike Babcock resigned from the Columbus Blue Jackets in mid-September in the wake of a scandal about his improper interactions with players.

Before joining the Broncos in 2021, Praught worked his way up the ranks in the Notre Dame Hounds youth hockey association in Saskatchewan. During his playing days, Praught was a winger with the QMJHL’s Prince Edward Island Rocket and, later, with the St. Thomas University Tommies.

With McEwen behind the bench, the Broncos will return to action on Tuesday to play host to the Medicine Hat Tigers at 6:00 p.m. CT.