Edmonton-area Bronco families share their grief with thousands
Taylor Joseph has been running what-if scenarios through her head since the fatal crash.
What if the bus carrying her younger brother Jaxon and 28 other members of the Humboldt Broncos had left town 10 seconds later? What if it had broken down, or stopped to get gas? What if Jaxon had decided to pursue academics instead of hockey — as hard as that was to imagine?
“So many what-ifs have been running through my mind so that the end scenario had Jaxon and the team arriving safely in Nipawin ready to play the game they loved,” she told a crowd Tuesday at Rogers Place gathered for a memorial for four Edmonton-area Humboldt Broncos who died in an April 6 crash in Saskatchewan.
“But it didn’t end like that. And now we are here.”
Jaxon Joseph, Logan Hunter, Parker Tobin and Stephen Wack were among 16 people who died after the team bus — bound for a playoff game — collided with a semi at the intersection of two rural highways. Another 13 people were injured.
Mourners filled the lower bowl and floor of Rogers Place for the 21/2-hour celebration of life Tuesday.
The crowd heard private details about the young men — Joseph, the 20-year-old forward who had just told his girlfriend he loved her; Hunter, 18, the goal scorer who listened to John Denver on long drives down country roads; Tobin, also 18, the nerdy goalie who liked pre-game Ichiban noodles and podcasts about finance; and Wack, the 21-year-old defenceman who will be laid to rest at the family lake spot.
The crowd saw baby pictures and videos of the boys at parties, or goofing around with family and friends. Despite the NHL-sized venue, it was as intimate as a smalltown rink.
Just before the memorial, Edmonton police officers corralled a crowd of people in business suits and hockey jerseys on a windy street corner outside the arena, as a procession made its way down 104 Avenue.
A lead car and a hearse — decked in green and gold flags — were followed by nine limos and a pickup, escorted by half a dozen city police and RCMP vehicles.
Inside, mourners stood as about 90 family members and friends filed into seats on the floor.
Hunter was eulogized by his father Lawrence, who remembered his son’s first time on the ice in his hometown of Drayton Valley. When Hunter’s parents tried to pull him off the ice, “he looked up at us and no, he was not taking part in that,” he said. “He continued to fall down and get up, but always with a smile.”
Tobin’s friend and fellow goalie Brandon Ewanchyshyn remembered the Fort McMurray native as a teacher, and a mere “four out of 10 on the goalie weirdness scale, according to our teammates.” Family friend Barb Potter remembered him as a mathematician and skilled floor ballplayer who led his teams to multiple championships and packed a kettle to prepare hotel room noodles for his teammates.
Wack, from St. Albert, was remembered by family as a humble, honest young man with a powerful work ethic. He will be laid to rest at the family’s lake spot, according to a program at the celebration of life.
Bryan Radmanovich said he talked on the phone often with Joseph, his godson. Originally from Edmonton, Joseph was settling into life as a “country boy.” Chris Joseph said his son Jaxon was excited for family to meet his girlfriend, to whom he’d confessed his love just two days before the crash.
Taylor Joseph said she’s still struggling to make sense of the loss of her brother. An image circulated online in the wake of the crash stuck with her — a Broncos logo with the words “They woke up that morning with hopes to win the game. But instead they united the world.”
“I will always love you, Jaxon,” she said. “You will always be my little brother, my partner in crime, my best friend.”