With a lot of new faces on the Swift Current Broncos coaching staff, local product Regan Darby remains the constant.
He is back for his third season as an assistant coach and continuing a long relationship with the Broncos.
"I've been with the team in various roles for quite some time now," Darby said. "I've seen several different coaches come through, learned a lot from all of them, all have very good things to bring to the game, all have been great teachers. I think I've benefited from that, bringing a little bit from each coach, the things I've learned that I can kind of pass on to maybe the players, maybe another assistant coming in. I've been lucky in that part that I've been able to be around a lot of different teachers of the game."
Darby, who played professional hockey for seven seasons, doesn't have any specific goals for his coaching future beyond continuing to pass on that knowledge.
"I would like to stay in the game," he said. "I love teaching. I love developing players, and I guess I just see where it takes me. I enjoy working with the Broncos. I've been around the team for quite some time. I have no plans of anything else at this point. But who knows, the game changes so quick and can take you anywhere."
"Regan is a terrific guy and a guy who cares," said Broncos GM Chad Leslie. "He's done an excellent job with us and he's a guy I trust. He's coming in his development as a coach, and down the road, there's potential for him to be a head guy. It's wherever Regan wants to take it.
"I value Regan a ton. He's a good human being and he cares about the Swift Current Broncos."
Darby splits his time between coaching with Swift Current and offering training with Swift Hockey Co. along with fellow Broncos Assistant Coach Travis Moen.
"It kind of ties in with each other," he said. "The development side has always been a passion of mine. I really enjoy working with younger athletes and watching them grow. Just taking it to the team and with the Broncos here it's a good fit. A lot of the guys I work with in the summer, and being able to see that development and see that growth in their skills and their game is fun to watch. It's definitely a passion of mine."
Darby now has to adjust to a new head coach with Dean SeSilva on the bench for Swift Current. It has been a good first impression.
"He's a really good fit for the team," Darby said. "Guys seem to be responding very well to him. He demands a lot and he's very detailed. Expects good habits and good attitude, a good work ethic coming into practice."
Darby is excited to work with their young defensive corps, which he feels has made significant strides after their work during the offseason. That is going to be a key part of the game for a young Broncos club that lost a lot of its scoring from last season.
"I think we'll be a defense first kind of team," Darby said. "We're going to play the right way, very detailed, very predictable style of play, which will be good for a group that is maybe a little bit inexperienced up front, lost a lot of guys. But at the same time, we're going to expect a lot from them. We're going to expect them to play hard. We're going to expect them to play a certain way. And just from being around them here at camp and the first little bit here, they're responding very well to it.
"The goals may not come as easy as they have in the past, but we're going to work on our ozone play, and we're going to work on our entries and our rushes and how we can produce a different way, possibly. Just create as much as we can."
The Darby family got a bit of a surprise during when Regan's son Hudson was traded to Swift Current from Portland.
"He's excited to come home," Regan said. "Very unexpected, but at the same time he's excited for a new opportunity. He's worked hard this summer. He's put a lot of time in. He's always kind of been around the Broncos. We've billeted, so it's kind of in his blood."
The Broncos wrap up their pre-season this weekend with two games against the Wheat Kings.
They're in Brandon tonight at 6:00 pm and in Virden tomorrow at 6:30 pm.
You can listen to both games on Country 94.1 FM with Austin Mattes making his debut as the voice of the Broncos.