Parents of Bronco player killed in crash pitching in to promote organ donation

Toby and Bernadine Boulet, the parents of Humboldt Broncos player Logan Boulet, will be speaking at an annual Kidney Foundation of Canada community event about the importance of organ donation and donor registration in Saskatoon.

Logan was among the 16 people who died when the team bus and a semi trailer collided on a highway in April.

Toby Boulet said he and his wife felt it was “an honour” to be invited to speak at the gala event.

“We decided about six to eight weeks ago that we’re focusing our energies ... on organ transplants and organ donorship,” he said.

Their son had told them he was registering as an organ donor in 2017, in memory of a beloved trainer who had died that year.

“He signed his donor card. He wanted to be a donor. He told us. We supported it,” Toby Boulet said. “We’re honoured to continue his legacy, because that’s what he would want to do.”

Logan’s organ donation helped save six lives and spurred a huge growth in organ donor registration across the country. The outpouring of Canadians registering as organ donors has been named the “Logan Boulet Effect,” which is estimated to have spurred more than 100,000 new registered donors.

Joyce van Deurzen, executive director of the Saskatchewan and Southern Alberta branches of the Kidney Foundation of Canada, said Logan’s decision “changed the face of organ donation in Canada.”

“The most important action that everyone has to take is, tell your family what your wishes are,” she said. “Talk to your family, tell everyone about it. Let’s change lives.”

Van Deurzen said the Fright Night Fashion Gala is a casual dress event that’s meant to reach out to the community and raise money and awareness for kidney disease. The night features a fashion show with costumes created by Saskatchewan designers — including a joint costume worn by a four-month-old boy on dialysis and his father.

Boulet said the gala is one of four events he and his wife have agreed to speak at so far, and that they’ll speak on the topic of organ donation as much and as often as possible.

On the monument commemorating Logan Boulet, one corner features the Humboldt Broncos Strong logo and mantra. The other corner includes an image recognizing the “Logan Effect” that he inspired.

Boulet said he looks forward to meeting donors and transplant recipients at the foundation gala — and to sharing Logan’s story.

“We feel it’s important we share some of Logan every time we speak,” he said. “If we don’t do that, then all they know is Logan is a hockey player, he played for the Broncos, and he donated his organs. And we think there’s much more to the story.”