LEAGUE OFFICIALS PUT PLAYOFF PLANS ON HOLD
League to decide whether to continue championship in aftermath of tragedy
Where does the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League — still smack in the middle of playoffs — go from here?
What happens to the Humboldt Broncos, who can’t possibly ice a team right now?
Those are questions for which there aren’t yet many answers as the Broncos and the league continue to cope with the loss of life together with all the pain and suffering that comes with a tragedy of this magnitude — one that has left at least 15 dead.
There are far-reaching implications in the aftermath of the Broncos’ team bus crash.
“It’s important that we have conversations first and, until then, it makes no sense to assume anything,” stressed SJHL president Bill Chow.
“We’re going to have conversations with the groups that are involved. We’re going to have conversations with our governors and then, at that point of time, we will make a decision as to whatever that decision is. We’re just going to go as things unfold and try and figure it out. We’re going to go one step at a time. People aren’t going to be in favour of our decisions we make, one way or another. I understand that. But at the end of the day, it’s going to be what our group decides we think is right and go forward.”
The Broncos were on their way Friday to Nipawin to play the Hawks in Game 5 of their bestof-seven league semifinal series with Humboldt trailing Nipawin 3-1 in the series. Game 6, if needed, would have been played Sunday at the Elgar Peterson Arena, where a vigil was being held Sunday night.
Longtime league governor Rick Shultz could provide no answers, either. Nothing like this has ever happened before for the league.
“Where do you go from here — that’s so true,” wondered Shultz. “I played in this league. I’ve been involved in this league for 42 years and I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s the worst day in the history of the league.”
The Broncos have a spring training camp scheduled for April 2022. There is no word on whether that will actually proceed.
“It’s something we know is coming up,” said Broncos club president Kevin Garinger. “We’ve talked about it. At this point, we’re not in a position to make any decisions relative to hockey. Our focus is on our families and our billet families and our community and everybody else who is impacted by this horrific tragedy and it’s so far-reaching. It’s just unbelievable.”
Garinger promised that the Broncos will eventually march on.
“We will persevere,” he promised. “And we will honour the souls that were lost. Everything about this tragedy is unprecedented and it’s overwhelming, including the torrential outpouring of support our organization has seen.”
When asked about third-party liability insurance, which will likely come into play in an accident like this, Chow says the league and Broncos would be insured through the Saskatchewan Hockey Association and Hockey Canada.
“My assumption was the bus was licensed through SGI,” he added, “so there’ll be that to deal with moving forward on that side of things.”
Chow said Saturday that the league “will support the Humboldt Broncos every way possible.”
“The rest of the league is doing whatever we will decide what we will do moving forward,” he stressed.
Chow, a former police officer in Prince Albert, has dealt with tragedies first-hand and admits it’s not easy to cope with, yet people should not be afraid to ask for help.
“These young men moving forward, this is going to be a part of their memory,” said Chow. “Whether you like it or not, from my previous career (as a police officer), that’s just life. Being able to cope with that and not being afraid to seek somebody out to speak to, and really sit down and speak to and get some help, is really going to be important.
“Our other teams, if they have some counselling to deal with, it’s important that they seek the proper people to counsel their players. Is it going to be an easy process? Probably not. But I think that’s where they need to seek help and not be afraid to help.”
I’ve been involved in this league for 42 years and I’ve never seen anything like it.