Las Vegas reunion ‘was like time froze’

He’s spent almost every moment in hospital since the day of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash, so Ryan Straschnitzki wasn’t going to pass up a quick getaway to Las Vegas.

Especially because of who would be joining him.

Ten surviving members of the Broncos were reunited this week in Vegas as special guests at the NHL’s annual awards show.

Straschnitzki flew in Monday from Philadelphia, where he’s been continuing his rehab for nearly three weeks at the Shriners Hospital for Children following a stay at Calgary’s Foothills Hospital.

While he was able to visit with some of his Broncos teammates at Foothills and stayed in touch with the rest by way of their team group chat, it was the first time since the crash seeing so many of them in person.

“It was like time froze,” Straschnitzki said. “Seeing them just brought back so many memories and it almost felt like we were in the locker-room again. We were just so close.”

Straschnitzki, 19, was paralyzed from the chest down in the April 6 crash north of Tisdale that killed 16. He needed surgery to repair a broken back.

Broncos coach Darcy Haugan was one of those killed in the crash. On Wednesday night, he was honoured posthumously with the inaugural Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award.

Haugan’s wife, Christina, surrounded by her husband’s team, accepted the award onstage.

“I think that moment when we all got onto the stage and we were all together, that was one of the big things for us,” Straschnitzki said. “We thought it was well-deserved. I mean, he was such a good guy, very humble and everything. Just being there for him and our teammates, it was awesome.”

In between media appearances and meet-and-greets with the NHL’s best, the group hung out around the hotel and took in the hit show Absinthe, he said.

“It’s like a dream come true,” said Straschnitzki of his first trip to Vegas, as he took a quick break from packing for his 2 p.m. flight to chat.

“Every kid wants to end up in the NHL in some way, and for us, this is our way. It was just awesome.”

Upon returning to Philadelphia, Straschnitzki will carry on his physiotherapy sessions in hospital, where he’s been focusing on transfers to and from various positions.

Without feeling in his lower body, he has to rely on his upper body to move himself around independently, a skill he needs to master in order to transfer from his wheelchair to a car seat, or go from lying down to sitting up in bed, for instance.

“Kind of switching it up on how to get in and out of things, working on my strength,” he said of his latest rehabilitation sessions. “I think strength is a huge thing that I need if I want to start sledge hockey soon. Just strength and different types of things that I’m going to need to know when I get into the real world.”

And after that? “Hopefully a departure back to Airdrie,” said Straschnitzki, “to start my new life.”