Humboldt Hockey Day about ‘helping,’ ‘healing’ and ‘moving forward’

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When Stephenson arrived with the cup in Humboldt, he saw how the April 6 bus tragedy hit the town.

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“It’s tough seeing some of the families and the billet parents. To talk to them, all you can do is give your condolences,” Stephenson said. “Nothing can replace a life.

“You just try to help out as much as you can. That’s what today is all about.”

For Kaleb Dahlgren, Humboldt Hockey Day was about healing.

Dahlgren is one of the survivors from the tragedy, the Broncos’ assistant captain last year. He described the private event, involving family members of the Broncos in the crash.

“Everybody takes their healing time differently,” Dahlgren said. “There’s different things that can happen. For some people, this will help. For others, it won’t.

“For me, this day’s huge in the healing process.”

Before the Stanley Cup officially arrived in Humboldt, it was delivered to the Broncos’ bus crash site as a tribute. Philip Pritchard, the Hockey Hall of Fame’s keeper of the cup, tweeted out photos of the Cup as part of the memorial display.

“That means so much to me,” Dahlgren said of the tribute. “I know those people that lost their lives there would really appreciate that in a way. I appreciate it too. It’s nice to honour that, and it really does mean a lot.”

Dahlgren won’t be at the Broncos training camp this Friday to Sunday at the Elgar Petersen Arena, as he’s packing to report to York University, where he could play as early as this season and hoping to return around the holidays.

Dahlgren suffered a serious brain injury as a result of the crash, but he’s been cleared to be on the ice for practice during the summer and working out in the gym.

“Being back on the ice is amazing. It’s home for me. It’s my happy place,” Dahlgren said. “I’m feeling good, my body’s healed. I just need my brain to heal now.”

For Jamie Brockman, Humboldt Hockey Day was about moving forward.

It’s a point that Broncos’ president Brockman repeated during his time at the packed press conference at the Elgar Petersen Arena.

When asked why it was important for the Broncos as an organization to keep forging ahead, all Brockman had to do was look at the schedule.

“There’s a hockey season coming up, right?” said Brockman, who was announced as re-taking the reins as the Broncos’ president on Wednesday. “The only way to move forward is to tackle that season, one game at a time. We want to do that remembering, obviously, the friends we had lost and friends that are still with us.

“There’s going to be 20 kids or 30 kids here that want to play hockey.”

Jeff.dandrea@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @jeff_paNOW