Hurricanes, Broncos and Rebels will all have new head coaches next season

By MEDICINE HAT NEWS on May 17, 2025.

sports@medicinehatnews.com@MedicineHatNews

The WHL’s coaching carousel is in full speed.

Two Western Hockey League Club’s announced coaching changes Thursday for the 2025-26 season. The Lethbridge Hurricanes and Swift Current Broncos will be looking for new bench bosses.

The Hurricanes announced head coach Bill Peters chose not renew his contract with the club.

“It’s the right time, it’s the right time to turn the [coaching job] over to somebody new, and whoever they elect to pass it on to, it will be in more than capable hands and I’m sure Pete already has a plan in place,” Peters said in a team release. “When I took over [here], they talked about leaving the jersey in a better place, and I think we are doing that. I think the culture here [in Lethbridge] is very strong.”

Peters was hired by the Hurricanes on Aug. 30, 2023, spending two seasons with Lethbridge as head coach leading them to playoff berths in both years while amassing a regular season record of 75-49-10-2.

A few hours after the Hurricanes made their announcement, Swift Current put out a press release, announcing the dismissal of head coach Taras McEwen.

“I would like to thank Taras for his commitment to the program,” general manager Chad Leslie said in a release. “We wish him all the best in the future.”

McEwen was 66-43-4-2 in his tenure as head coach.

The two moves are the third coaching change in the last week, as the Red Deer Rebels announced May 9 that head coach Dave Struch would be stepping down due to personal reasons.

Struch joined the Rebels as interim head coach in March 2024 and guided the club to a second-round playoff appearance. He was named full-time head coach prior to the 2024-25 season.

“Dave has made a difficult, but important decision in order to attend to family matters back home in Regina,” says Rebels owner, president and general manager Brent Sutter in a release. “Family comes first, and we fully support his decision. We wish Dave and his family all the very best.”

“Thanks very much to the Rebels family, players and fans for the opportunity to be a part of a great organization,” Struch said.

Red Deer also announced assistant coach Clayton Beddoes will not be returning, leaving after two seasons to pursue other ventures.

The Hurricanes and Rebels join the Edmonton Oil Kings as Central division teams searching for a new head coach. Edmonton announced April 24 they would not be renewing the contract of HC Luke Pierce.

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