Former residents pay tribute to town with hockey at its heart
As grieving Humboldt residents face the loss of 15 lives following Friday’s devastating collision, Albertans with ties to the small Saskatchewan city are paying tribute to a tight-knit community with deep pride for its hockey players.
Speedskater William Dutton, who is from Humboldt and now lives in Calgary, said hockey has always been a “keystone” for the town of about 6,000, recalling how half the community would pack the arena stands for a playoff game.
The long-track speedskater and 2014 Olympian is a former Humboldt Broncos team member himself and says he still dons the jersey whenever he plays a game of shinny.
“I loved playing for the Broncos and I will always have a connection to the team,” he said.
The huge role the team plays in the connected city where “everybody knows everybody” means the loss residents are facing will have wide ripple effects, Dutton noted.
“There’s not going to be a single person that’s untouched by that,” he said.
As an athlete who spent a lot of time travelling on buses with teammates, the grief following the collision is difficult to comprehend.
“You’re with the team, everybody’s happy, there’s a good environment, and to have that taken away so suddenly …,” he says, the sentence trailing off.
“You’re best friends with everybody on the team … I can’t imagine what they’re going through. I just really wish the best for them.”
Another Olympian, retired bobsledder Lyndon Rush, also remembers the strong focus on hockey in his hometown of Humboldt.
“In Humboldt, every minor hockey team is the Humboldt Broncos,” said Rush, who lives in Sylvan Lake. “The SJHL team were the big guys that wore our colours.”
It was a 15-minute walk from his home to the arena at the centre of town.
The building acted as a meeting place throughout every winter, as the population gathered for the games.
With the junior hockey team on a playoff run this year, Rush said he can just imagine how excited the community must have been.
“I imagine these kids were walking around like superheroes in town,” he said.
“The whole town would have been talking about the team, and it would have been such an exciting time.”
Carter Seminuk, who recently played for the junior hockey team, said being a Humboldt Bronco meant everywhere he went in the city, someone would recognize him as a player and shake his hand or talk to him.
“It was just a very nice community,” he said of the city where he lived for two years.
“Something like this happens — it’s devastating, to say the least.”
He noted the hockey team was very involved in the community, often going to schools to play floor hockey with the students or to serve lunches.
“That was one of the coach’s main things about off the ice is being in the community,” said Seminuk, who lives in Strathmore.
“Because the community funds the team, so we would give back every inch that we could as a payback for everything.”
Corey Dambrauskas, a Calgary resident who also recently played for the Broncos and lived in Humboldt for two years, remembers being helped by community members when he was badly injured and had to be rushed to Saskatoon. Billet families met him on the highway and quickly got him to hospital.
“That’s the type of people they are there,” he said.
He added the loss following Friday’s crash will be widely felt in Humboldt, from families to the loyal fans who cheered from the stands.
“It’s not just the team that’s going to be suffering, it’s the young kids that show up to every game and bash on the drums,” he said.
“It’s just such a close-knit community. I can’t even imagine.”
It was just a very nice community. Something like this happens — it’s devastating, to say the least.