Broncos’ late coach Haugan up for NHL award

The Humboldt Broncos will take a fond peek at the past this weekend, while dealing head-on with the future.

The Broncos — in the thick of a weekend player camp in Saskatoon, the first step toward stocking their roster for the 2018-19 season — are also rooting for deceased head coach and general manager Darcy Haugan to win the NHL’s Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award.

The NHL announced Friday that Haugan — who died in the April 6 bus crash that claimed 16 lives — is one of three finalists for the award, which is named after the NHL’s first black player.

It goes to a person who has made a positive impact on his or her community, culture or society through hockey. Voting is open to the public and done online, with the deadline set for 11 a.m. Saskatchewan time on June 1.

“He turned our organization around quickly,” Broncos’ president Kevin Garinger said Friday. “He moved it on a path we were very excited about, and he had incredible character himself. When you look at the Willie O’Ree Award, Darcy is, in our view, a great fit.”

Also nominated is Debbie Bland, who has made a large contribution to female hockey in Etobicoke, Ont., and to Neal Henderson, who created a successful and long-running hockey program in inner-city Washington, D.C.

Voting is open now, and can be done at nhl.com/OReeAward.

Haugan’s nomination write-up notes his contributions to Humboldt, his life-changing effect on young players, and his strong faith in God and its impact on his dealings with others.

“I can’t say enough about who the man was, and what he brought to our community and organization. He was the face and the heart and mind and soul of our organization,” Garinger said.

“Darcy wasn’t so concerned about the hockey-player piece; he was concerned about character people and building character, and through that, the hockey piece would take care of itself.”

While people cast their votes, the Broncos will evaluate players this weekend at a Saskatoon camp that’s closed to the public. They’d originally expected 80 prospective Broncos to take part, but that number now sits closer to 100.

“I’ve said this before: There are real mixed emotions as we move forward this way,” Garinger said. “We’re in the process of looking at hiring a coach and filling the role of GM, and now we’ve got approximately 100 young men who want to take that step to be part of our organization. We’re excited about that.

“We recognize it’s a bit of a change, and the mixed-emotion part is hard to come to grips with the fact that this is our reality now, and that reality is still hard to fathom when we’re missing those people deeply, who were part of the Humboldt Broncos. They’ll always be in our hearts, and we’ll carry them forward.

“It’s with mixed emotions, but it’s exciting to know we have a number of young athletes who want to be part of the Humboldt Broncos’ organization. We look forward to what that camp is going to bring.”

He was the face and the heart and mind and soul of our organization.