All eyes on Broncos as team prepares for a new season
Humboldt squad, rebuilding after tragedy in April, balances love of game with grief
The best thing wecandois just prepare ourselves the best we can, and let the players know there’s people there to talk to, if they need it.
The Stanley Cup is coming. So are cameras, and bright lights, and a hockey training camp without precedent.
Nothing’s normal as the week winds down in Humboldt — not until they hit the ice, anyway, and play hockey the way they ’ve always done.
“There’s a big spotlight on this organization right now,” says the Humboldt Broncos’ new head coach and general manager, Nathan Oystrick, whose team — which lost 16 people in an April 6 bus crash — opens training camp today.
Oystrick’s predecessor, Darcy Haugan, died in the crash. The new coach, a former NHL player and longtime pro, said his door is open to any incoming player needing help in dealing with the aftermath. And more supports are in place.
“We’re bringing some people in to surround the organization,” he said. “We’re going to have a chaplain who will be there to talk to the players, and there’ll be some other mentalhealth-type people we’re bringing in to make sure that if players or even coaches need someone to talk to, they have that person.
“There’s going to be some tough times this year, and that may or may not start right at training camp, or our first meeting, the first time everyone gets to go in the dressing room. Whatever it is — seeing the memorial, or driving down the highway — we have people in place. We’re preparing for it. I don’t think you can fully prepare, because we don’t know what to expect. We might have 75 to 80 players that all need to talk to someone. We might have two. The best thing we can do is just prepare ourselves the best we can, and let the players know there’s people there to talk to, if they need it.”
The team is rebuilding almost from scratch. Interest in the Broncos flowed across the world in the aftermath of that collision and remains high as they prepare for camp.
“We’ve been told there’s going to be a lot of media,” Oystrick said. “It’s different in that aspect, but it’s also different in hockey. I haven’t seen any of these players play. It’s a blank slate for every player. It’s a blank slate for me. There’s no (preconceived) notions. There might be a player who a couple of years ago, wasn’t getting a lot of chances. Well, I don’t know about that. He’s coming in, and I’m coming in, and we both don’t know each other. So let’s play hockey.”
They’ll celebrate hockey, too, of course, one day after the Snowbirds flew over the town’s hockey arena and left a heart in the sky.
Saskatoon’s Chandler Stephenson, who won the Stanley Cup this past season while playing for the Washington Capitals, is taking the chalice into the city today on what they’re calling Humboldt Hockey Day.
Various current and former NHL players are on hand, as well as a Hockey Hall of Fame display, interactive games, and pickup shinny games. Then, the clock will turn to 5 p.m., and the Broncos will take to the ice for the first time since a 6-5 triple-overtime playoff loss to the Nipawin Hawks on April 4.
“Obviously, this is a big role,” Oystrick said of the job he’s filling. “Not only because of what happened on April 6, but Humboldt is historically a hockey community, and it’s a very storied franchise. It’s always going to be hard, being the new coach, but I think this time, there’s a lot of spotlight on the organization. A lot of eyes watching; a lot of support from all over the world. That’s definitely been helpful, and nice.”
Which circles us back to Elgar Petersen Arena, where the Broncos launch their rebuild today.
“It’ll definitely be ... the training camp that I remember for the rest of my life,” Oystrick said.