‘I kept checking for updates.’ Horrific Humboldt crash affects Tri-City Americans, families

There are no words.

That phrase has been uttered countless times since the news of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash broke Friday night.

The junior hockey team’s bus was T-boned by a semitruck about 5 p.m. Friday. The accident left 15 people dead, including 10 players. Fourteen survived, with several still in critical condition.

The semi driver was not hurt.

As the news of the crash reverberated through the hockey community, the Tri-City Americans were in Victoria, British Columbia, for their second-round playoff series.

“It was incredibly hard,” Tri-City coach Mike Williamson said. “We have some players who had friends on that bus. You cannot grasp the scope of it. I think it’s good the players have each other.”

Chase Wharton, a 2009 Kamiakin graduate, played two seasons for the Broncos, and said he still is trying to make sense of everything.

“It is a very tight-knit community and the hockey team is a big thing there,” said Wharton, who played for the Broncos from 2010-12. “It’s hard to explain what small-town hockey is like in Canada. It’s a small town with two stop lights and a couple of restaurants. The community is small and they have a rich tradition.”

Though it’s been a few years since he played there, Wharton said people have been contacting him to make sure he’s OK.

“It really is amazing,” he said.

The accident

The truck and bus collided on Highway 35 in Saskatchewan. The team was heading to Nipawin, about 2 hours north of Humboldt, for a playoff game.

The driver of the semi was initially detained but has since been released while authorities investigate, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said.

According to authorities, the semi should have stopped at a stop sign before crossing over the highway. There is a stand of trees on the southeast corner of the intersection, limiting visibility of the approach on both roads.

Photos of the wreckage showed the bus on its side, the roof peeled back and the front end destroyed, while the semi was twisted with most of its wheels in the air.

It is the second tragic bus crash in Saskatchewan over the past 32 years.

On Dec. 30, 1986, a bus carrying the Swift Current Broncos WHL team hit a patch of ice on a Saskatchewan stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway, killing four players and hurting 24.

The Four Broncos Trophy, given in honor of those four players, is awarded to the WHL Player of the Year. Tri-City Americans players Stu Barnes and Brendan Shinnimin have won the award.

“The bus becomes a second home,” said Wharton, 26, who lives in Jackson, Wyo. “You build a ton of friendships and you look forward to road trips.”

Wharton, who played five years of junior hockey and in college, said he’d taken thousands of bus trips during his five years of junior and college hockey.

“I remember going to Manitoba and guys would text their parents that we got there,” he said. “You never think this will happen.”

Former Tri-City American Dylan Stanley echoed that.

“I’ve made hundreds of trips on the bus during my junior days,” said Stanley in a phone interview from Austria, where he plays professionally. “I’m sure we have all had thoughts at four in the morning when we are on the backroads of Washington and British Columbia.”

Wharton’s mom, Brenda, said she worried about her son on bus trips, but more so because of the severe Canadian winters.

“It is one those fears that everyone has as a parent,” Brenda Wharton said. “This derailed me for the weekend. I kept checking for updates.”

The number of victims goes beyond the survivors

Stanley and former Tri-City teammate Shawn Belle trained one of the victims, Logan Hunter, at their Evolve Pro Hockey facility in Edmonton, Alberta.

“I had just spoken to Logan the day before (the crash),” Stanley said. “He was looking for some advice. A lot of the younger guys we train were friends with Logan.”

Stanley said he talked to Hunter’s mom, which was a difficult conversation.

“Having kids myself, there are no words to give,” he said.

There was a memorial Sunday at Elgar Petersen Arena in Humboldt, where families, host families and community members remembered those who died.

“It’s one of the steps we have to go through in our community,” Humboldt mayor Rob Muench said during the event. “To use a hockey analogy, we’ll stickhandle our way through this.”

WHL, NHL and Major League Baseball teams had moments of silence before their weekend games.

The Americans and Victoria Royals, wearing Humboldt Bronco stickers on their helmets, formed a circle at center ice Saturday during the national anthems.

“We are competitive on the ice, but there are more important things than that,” Williamson said. “When things like this happen, people do what they can.”

Tragedy goes worldwide

The Humboldt community and team have received condolences and support from all over the world.

Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, said they were “saddened” by the incident.

Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau and former NHL coach Don Cherry attended Sunday’s memorial, and President Trump offered his condolences.

Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Marcus Stroman took the mound Saturday against the Texas Rangers with Humboldt Broncos written on his cap. Stroman said he would be auctioning the cap and donating the proceeds to the Broncos.

On Saturday, the Winnipeg Jets and Chicago Blackhawks removed the nameplates from the back of their jerseys and replaced them with ones that read Broncos.

The Jets, Blackhawks and the NHL each donated $25,000 to the Broncos. Winnipeg, Calgary and Edmonton also donated the proceeds from their Saturday drawings.

“The NHL mourns the passing of those who perished and offers strength and comfort to those injured while traveling to play and be part of the game they all love,” the NHL tweeted.

A GoFundMe account was established Saturday. It raised more than $5.5 million through Monday morning, with more than 76,000 donations, including from NHL teams.

The original goal was $10,000.

“In such a tragedy, you are seeing the backbone of hockey and those helping them get through this,” Wharton said.

While the world has stepped up to support the Broncos, Humboldt player Logan Boulet of Lethbridge, Alberta, will help six people live.

Boulet, one of the crash victims who died, signed a donor card when he turned 21 a few weeks ago.

The defenseman’s heart and lungs were already implanted in someone Sunday.

“These actions alone give voice to the selfless and benevolent nature Logan possessed in life for others,” family friend Neil Langevin told Canada’s National Post. “He is a great hero and one of the nicest people you would have been lucky enough to meet.”

A final tribute to the Humboldt players Sunday night was the act of players and others from Everett to the far reaches of Canada leaving a hockey stick on their porch with the following sentiment.

“Leaving it out on the porch tonight. The boys might need it ... wherever they are.”

This story was originally published April 9, 2018 at 12:52 PM with the headline "‘I kept checking for updates.’ Horrific Humboldt crash affects Tri-City Americans, families."