I was watching a hockey game and having dinner at a restaurant Friday night when the graphic came on the bottom of the TV screen: Junior hockey team in Saskatchewan involved in bus accident on highway.
At that time, I had no idea of the extent of it. The next day, of course, the news came quickly on social media that 14 people had died (now 15) and 15 more were in hospital, some fighting for their lives.
Just like that, in the blink of an eye, an entire hockey team was more or less gone. The town of Humboldt, the junior hockey community, in fact, pretty much all of Canada is in mourning. The feeling of powerlessness is pervading. There are so many questions: Is there anything we can do? How did this happen? How could it have been prevented? Why these boys? Why this team?
It wasn't long ago I wrote a column about the local hockey community and how beneficial it is for youth to be involved. These were good kids who loved to play the Canadian game and be part of a team. Many of them had plans of going off to play university hockey. Now some are gone. Of the ones who survived many will have a long road back.
I played hockey for many years as a youth and loved being a part of a team. I never rose to the Junior A level, but even in house league or recreation league, your teammates are often your best friends. At the junior level, during hockey season you spend more time with your teammates than with your family. In fact, your playing buddies quickly become your family. One photo emerged quickly after the accident of Olds' Graysen Cameron holding hands with Bronco teammates Derek Patter and Nick Shumlanski in their hospital beds. The photo shows three young friends supporting each other in the direst of circumstances.
When you're 17 or 18 (as many of these players are) you feel invincible. Mortality is such a strange, faraway concept. You likely don't know anyone who has died or known any tragedy. Maybe a grandparent you visited once a year. To see those young hockey players looking so fragile is both horrifying and yet hopeful. Despite the dire situation, they remain strong and determined.
As a basketball coach for many, many years I've travelled on many long bus rides. In Cranbrook, we regularly took 7- to 8-hour-long bus trips on the weekends to get to play good competition, often over several mountain passes. I didn't envy those bus drivers. The lives of everyone inside is in your hands. Of course, there are so many things out of your control as a driver such as road conditions, weather and other drivers.
As a reporter I've covered junior hockey teams in several different communities. I've got to know many of the players and the coaches. It may sound like a cliche but it's true: it's a close-knit community. Most of the players on the Broncos are from Alberta. Cameron is from Olds and played with the Mountainview Colts in last year's playoffs. He is friends with many of those Colts. He also played midget hockey and lacrosse with Ryan McBeath, who tragically died in a different vehicle accident a couple of weeks ago. The Olds community is still reeling from that horrible tragedy.
I learned on social media that the coach (Emery Olauson) of the junior team in my last stop (Grand Forks) had played for the coach of the Humboldt team, Darcy Haugan, who was one of the 15 people who died that night in the bus crash. Haugan left behind a wife and two young boys.
The one thing about such a tragedy is that it brings a community together. It didn't take long for people to start donating to an online GoFundMe page for the families. The total of that account is now well over $1 million. There was a vigil on Sunday at the Humboldt arena where thousands came out to grieve and pray together. Some online initiatives have been wearing green (the Humboldt uniform colour), wearing a hockey jersey to honour the team, and even leaving hockey sticks out on the front porch. NHL teams honoured the team by having their own pre-game vigil and wearing "Broncos" on the back of their jerseys.
It is tragedies like these that remind us that life is short and you just don't know what could happen. As Canadian golfer Adam Hadwin, a Saskatchewan native, said about the accident: "It shows you how short life is. You need to appreciate every moment. You need to appreciate the people around you."
Looking back on my hockey days it really wasn't about wins or losses or even scoring or playing the game, it was having fun with some buddies; clowning around in the change room; talking about the games with my parents afterwards. Family and friends. Cherish the time you have and your loved ones because you just never know.
- Craig Lindsay is the Mountain View Gazette reporter
