Life. It’s precious. The hockey family was rocked a few weeks ago with the Humboldt Broncos bus accident. The way everyone came together and still are and will is what makes the hockey world special. 

It’s always one thing when one person dies in an accident but it seems so much more impactful when suddenly that many lives were lost. And because the history of bus travel in junior hockey resonates with so many people who have done it themselves, the incident hit even closer to home. 

A good buddy of mine, Wade, played some Jr A hockey in the AJHL with the head coach of the Broncos, Darcy Haugan, who passed away.

My friend organized a fundraiser in Darcy’s honour. Like I said, it hits home when a good friend loses a good friend and former teammate. We were honoured to ship him a couple sticks for prizing for the fundraiser and they wound up watching some playoff hockey and (Wade’s words) “had a couple pops” and raised just over $3,000. Pretty cool effort. 

And there are so many great stories like this in the wake of this tragedy. It’ll take a long long time for the survivors and those who lost friends, family and teammates to move forward. Let’s all not forget this and remember as we head into the spring hockey to stay focused on what’s important in life – friends, family, being a good teammate and all the good things that the game gives us. Because life is precious and hockey careers come and go but friends, family and the life skills learned through our hockey experiences last a lifetime.