They are not alone
The funerals have begun while the death toll continues to mount. A shocked nation is still deep into its grieving process. The first funeral was held Thursday even as news spread that another person involved in the horrific crash a week ago had died from her injuries. It brings to 16 the number of dead among the 29 on board a bus heading to a Humboldt Broncos junior hockey playoff game – a trip which ended in unfathomable tragedy. Some of the survivors remain in critical condition.
In businesses, classrooms and newsroom across the land, sports jerseys were worn Thursday. It was in response to a challenge from a group of British Columbia hockey moms, asking Canadians to wear a sports jersey - or even a ribbon - as a show of solidarity with victims’ families in Humboldt, Sask.
Canadians rushed to support the bereaved families - donating more than $8 million to a GoFundMe campaign, to wearing a jersey, to putting a hockey stick on their front porch, to messages of condolence. We wanted Humboldt to know it is not alone.
Experts tell us that such displays of support are immeasurably beneficial to help the families, friends and teammates of the Broncos recover from their shock and grief. People need support in such times, as they try to understand this calamity, deal with their loss and then to move on with their lives.
Although Humboldt is thousands of kilometres away, the tragedy hits home in many Atlantic communities where sports teams and so many other groups get on buses every day to represent a school, a team or community in competitions and events.
Hockey teams from NHL to atom house league stand together with the Broncos. It why players from the Halifax Mooseheads and Charlottetown Islanders gathered in solidarity before the start of their Quebec Major Junior Hockey League playoffs games this week. Rivalries were put aside and players all become part of the national sports family. Similar scenes were repeated in communities across Atlantic Canada and the nation.
Humboldt’s imprint has weaved its way across the Canadian landscape. The Broncos played on P.E.I. 15 years ago when the Royal Bank Cup junior A hockey championship was hosted in Charlottetown. While Humboldt lost to Camrose, Alberta 3-1 in that final, the starry Broncos dominated the individual awards. The team went on to win two Royal Bank Cups in the years following.
Yes, it is a small world and we are all part of that tight-knit hockey family.
The start of the Stanley Cup playoffs, usually an exciting time for teams and fans – is tempered by the Humboldt tragedy when so many NHL players and coaches have a connection with that Prairie community and province. It puts things into proper perspective.
The message behind this week’s campaigns to support victims of the Humboldt tragedy is, ‘We are all one team.’ Let’s continue to remember that as the heroic dead are laid to rest.
“Humboldt’s imprint has weaved its way across the Canadian landscape.”