HUMBOLDT, Sask. — The hockey community is a tight one.
In times of trouble, turmoil and tragedy, hockey people set aside the logo on their sweater, the league in which they play, the on-ice rivalries between players. They join hands, they stand together at centre ice, they reach into their heads, hearts and their wallets. And they do so with the support of their fans, volunteers, billets, sponsors, media and everyone else who spends time around an arena.
That’s never been more evident since the horrific accident involving the Humboldt Broncos. Hockey people around the world have joined everyone involved with the Saskatchewan community in the devastating loss of 10 players and five staff personnel with the Broncos.
The hockey world has stood tall for Logan Boulet, the beautiful 21-year-old whose recent decision to donate his organs to six people in need. It stands for Adam Herold, Logan Schatz, Logan Hunter, Jaxon Joseph, Conner Lukan, Evan Thomas, Jacob Leight, Parker Tobin and Stephen Wack, who displayed their talent and character wearing the Broncos jerseys. It stands for head coach Darcy Haugan and assistant coach Mark Cross. It stands for Tyler Bieber, the voice of the Broncos, and Brody Hinz, the 18-year-old who kept statistics for the team and whom was being mentored by Bieber. It stands for Glen Doerksen, the bus driver who enjoyed so much driving sports teams across Saskatchewan and watching those games on the road.
We’ve seen since the evening of the accident that hockey people around the world stand in support of Humboldt.
“I want to say to all the Humboldt Broncos families, billets, coaching staff, teammates, classmates, teachers, friends, community members — not one of us is alone in our grief,” team president Kevin Garinger said Sunday night during a vigil at Elgar Petersen Arena.
As Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League president Bill Chow said over the weekend, “there’s no blueprint for something of this magnitude”. The league is taking steps to help the healing.
With an extremely generous gift of $300,000-plus from Co-operative Retailing System, the SJHL announced Monday it is establishing an Assistance Program to support players, families, billets and communities.
Co-operative Retailing System Twitter Announcement
The gofundme page set up by Humboldt resident Sylvie Kellington had raised almost $5-million dollars as of Monday morning. The funds that have landed will be extremely important in helping the people injured in the crash with the costs that will come with rehabilitation and recovery from this horribly traumatic event. There will be harsh financial realities for the families of both the deceased and survivors moving forward.
The CJHL sincerely thanks everyone who has already contributed to the gofundme initiative and hopes the support continues.
CJHL president Brent Ladds, chairman Kevin Abrams and representatives from the 131 other teams across our 10 member leagues share the gratitude of the Broncos and the SJHL for the overwhelming show of support from the hockey community on social media.
The Hockey World’s Support for Humboldt