I feel very fortunate as a hockey fan to work at the Hockey Hall of Fame, the amount of people I have had the chance to meet in just over 16 months there has been some of the most fulfilling time of my life. That's not just meeting current NHL players or Hall of Famers, but meeting hockey fans from all around the planet and bonding over a love for the game. For those that know me know hockey is my entire life, whether that be playing, watching, writing, coaching, timekeeping, and so on, I could talk about hockey and never get bored. It's always enjoyable for me to see guests reactions when they see the Stanley Cup for the 1st time, or marvel at the beauty of the Great Hall and all its history. While there are a number of instances that stand out worth talking about, I'm focusing solely on a life-changing encounter I had today (December 6, 2018) meeting surviving members of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash and their families.
Everyone knows the story: The day was April 6th, the Humboldt Broncos of the SJHL were heading to play a playoff game against the Nipawin Hawks, travelling by team bus from Humboldt to Nipawin. A devastating accident occurred en route, where a semi-trailer truck collided with the team bus head on and destroying everything in its path, as 16 individuals tragically lost their lives and many others left with permanent disabilities or injuries. An accident like this is catastrophic to begin with, so many young kids losing their lives far too soon, families who will never get to hug their loved ones again. But what makes this truly gut-wrenching for the hockey community is how this could have happened to anyone, travelling by team bus is something every hockey player experiences throughout their playing career, professional or not. The hockey world ended up coming together for the Broncos and raising over $15 million for the team via GoFundMe, which was then decided to be distributed evenly among the families of all involved in the crash.
As the months have gone by the Broncos have attempted to move on with their lives, altered forever by an unspeakable tragedy that still remains hard to cope with to this day. The hockey community and the NHL has done their best to ease the recovery and recognize the players and family members, including them hosting the NHL awards this past summer and several appearances at NHL games. Most inspiring of all, two players who survived the bus crash - Brayden Camrud and Derek Patter - have continued to play hockey with the Broncos this season and were voted as Assistant Captains. I can't even grasp at the thought of what these players and their families have to endure day to day, always reliving the horrific crash in their heads, not being able to see friends or loved ones again. It is why this story remains in my thoughts since the day it happened, every time I pass by the Humboldt Broncos display case at the HHOF I stop and reflect for a few seconds.
Flash forward to today, several members of the Broncos and their families were invited to a private tour and visit at the HHOF. I was unaware they were coming in today, and had already been having a rough day as I was almost injured in hockey the night prior. For those that know me, I've had three concussions and spent the last one recovering for 15 months before I was back to normal, so I was in a bad mood all day because of the incident from last night's game. Things changed in a heartbeat when I had the honour of meeting these players and their families, getting to see them in person and speak to them first-hand was truly eye-opening for me, something that will stick with me for the rest of my life. The word that comes to mind is perspective: even though I had endured some hell with my concussions it's minuscule compared to what these people have to deal with on a day to day basis, and it truly made me realize how lucky and fortunate I am. I was able to witness one of the players, Layne Matechuk, play the shooting game and seeing the joy in his eyes was indescribable. Layne was one of the last players released from hospital and is still working on getting mobility back in the right side of his body and learning to speak again.
As the group departed from the HHOF today my mind was racing with emotions, so much so that I felt I needed to share this experience in this blog post. Meeting the Broncos players and their families has given me a new perspective on life, something that will stay with me forever now. My departing thoughts on this is to understand the importance of perspective: while you may be going through stuff that seems bad at the time, it becomes unimportant in the grand scheme of things when you realize what others might be dealing with. I thought my 15 months recovering from my concussion was absolute hell and the lowest point of my life, but that doesn't come close to what these young men and their families now have to endure for life. My final message is to be in the present moment: enjoy each and every day like it could be your last. Be there for your friends when they need it, call your loved ones and just tell them how much you appreciate them, and most importantly always look for the positives even when everything seems negative.
My heart aches for these players and their families, and while I really can't help them grieve, I can thank them for giving me this new perspective on life.
Be in the Present Moment
-Joel Forman - The Forman Faceoff
