Tigers hoping for the best
Hat bantam pick Matechuk in a coma after Humboldt crash
Medicine Hat Tigers draft pick Layne Matechuk suffered severe head and body injuries when his Humboldt Broncos’ team bus was struck by a semi-trailer Friday evening while on the way to Game 5 in their Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League series against the Nipawin Hawks. Fifteen were killed as a result of the collision while 14 more, including Matechuk, were injured.
Tigers defenceman Dylan MacPherson was one of hundreds at a candlelight vigil for the Broncos on Sunday at the Canalta Centre, and he says he’s simply doing what he can to show support for a fellow Tiger and his Humboldt teammates — knowing it could have been any team, in any league.
“He’s a quieter guy, but he’s good on the ice and a good guy to have in your corner. He’ll always be there for you, even in a bad situation,” MacPherson said of Matechuk, who was in a coma in serious but stable condition as of Saturday. “It could happen to anybody. We’ve had a couple scares with some icy road conditions. It’s the type of thing you do for the game you love, but at the end of the day it is just a game. It’s not worth anybody’s life, but we keep doing it every day for the game we love.”
Matechuk was drafted 40th overall in the second round of the 2015 Western Hockey League’s bantam draft. While the 18-year-old defenceman missed the cut at training camp this season and ended up playing with the Broncos as a result, fellow blueliner David Quenneville says Matechuk still left a mark on the Tigers.
“I knew Layne pretty well. Obviously he didn’t make the team, but he’s a guy who’s super friendly, a real nice guy and a real good hockey player. It’s hard to describe how terrible the feeling is. It’s really sad.”
Quenneville had three friends riding on the Humboldt team bus — Derek Patter, Tyler Smith and Matechuk — when the unthinkable occurred at the intersection of Highways 35 and 335 just north of Tisdale.
“It’s terrible. I had a couple really good buddies on that bus. I talked to one of them this morning. I think it just makes you really grateful for where you are,” he said. “It’s so sad. It’s so terrible. It really puts things into perspective.”
While the incident has shaken the hockey community in Canada and beyond, Quenneville says it’s been heartwarming to see how much the world has come together in support of the Broncos.
“I think it’s unbelievable. It’s crazy how small the hockey world is, yet how big it is. The hockey family is truly a family. There’s people reaching out, whether its the NHL, the MLB or almost everywhere in between. It’s terrible that it happened and that we’re in this situation talking about it, but it’s great to see everyone reaching out and doing what they can.”