Humboldt Broncos moving forward
HUMBOLDT The 2018-19 Humboldt Broncos have taken their first few steps, just like the franchise did nearly a half-century ago.
Aaron Lukan is proud to be one of the originals — a born-andraised Humboldt resident who has followed the SJHL team since its inaugural season of 1970-71.
Lukan and others in Humboldt are witnessing a rebirth. The Broncos, devastated by an April 6 bus crash in which 16 people (including 10 players and two coaches) were killed, would not give in to tragedy.
Humboldt Strong isn’t simply a slogan, but the prevailing mindset as the Broncos opened training camp on the weekend, when fans watched 75-plus hopefuls at Elgar Petersen Arena.
“This is a fairly big step for them to get back on the ice as an organization. The Broncos are huge in terms of Humboldt and its identity. It’ll be really good to get that going,” reflected Lukan, 60.
Families of the 29 people who were on the bus during the accident were part of Friday’s faceoff event, Humboldt Hockey Day.
The event was highlighted by the appearance of the Stanley Cup, which was brought to Humboldt by Saskatoon-born Washington Capitals forward Chandler Stephenson.
Later that afternoon, with considerably less fanfare, the Broncos opened training camp with the first of the day’s four practices.
From that point, it looked like any other training camp — albeit one with more people in the stands.
“We’re excited that we’re getting on the ice,” Broncos head coach and general manager Nathan Oystrick said. “We’re moving forward a little bit.
“No one’s ever going to forget about what happened, but this is a chance for the new group to kind of make their own journey.”
Upwards of 75 hopefuls were to take part in the three-day camp, which included six scrimmages leading up to Sunday’s Green and Gold top-40 game — the Elgar Petersen Cup.
“Steps like this help, as we start to get things going again,” Lukan said. “Of course, you get the media coming around again — and that’s going to happen now and it’s going to happen for the home opener and maybe for a little bit after that.
“The community is still coming to terms with it, certainly, but it’s getting a wee bit easier.”
The agenda beyond Friday was another stride toward normalcy.
Instead of a horde of media, such as the 50-plus reporters, photographers, camera people and technicians who flooded the facility on Friday, only a handful of journalists sat in the stands as a goal tenders only session loomed on Saturday.
Outside the arena, empty parking space was abundant, another contrast to Friday. On that Friday, newly elected Broncos president Jamie Brockman was surrounded by cameras and reporters, subjected to an intense glare. He acknowledged that it was “surreal” and “intimidating ” to be in such an unaccustomed situation, which he nonetheless handled with aplomb.
One question pertained to the process that will eventually lead to a Broncos game becoming the focus — without the tragic backstory factoring into everything, as will be the case when Humboldt plays host to the Nipawin Hawks on Sept. 12 in a nationally televised regular-season opener.
How long might it be, he was asked, before “Battlefords at Broncos on a Wednesday night” becomes the theme?
“I know our next hurdle is going to be that home opener. We’re going to put a lot of work into making that exciting and fun and we’ll see how things go after that.”