Cup brightens Humboldt Hockey Day
Saskatoon’s Stephenson hopes visit helps healing, two pals survived crash
HUMBOLDT, SASK.— A small Saskatchewan city devastated by a fatal bus crash involving its junior hockey team welcomed a trophy Friday that fans no doubt hoped would one day be hoisted by one of their boys.
Chandler Stephenson, a forward with the NHL champion Washington Capitals, brought the Stanley Cup to Humboldt to recognize the community’s strength and resilience after the April crash that killed 16 people — 10 of them players.
But a quiet visit to the rural highway crossing where the Broncos team bus and a transport truck collided may have meant the most.
Atweet from Philip Pritchard, official keeper of the trophy, shows the Cup sitting in the middle of a makeshift memorial composed of hockey sticks, crosses, flowers and flags.
“While their Stanley Cup dreams went unfulfilled, we thought we’d bring Stanley to them,” read Pritchard’s tweet.
“That means so much to me,” said Kaleb Dahlgren, one of the 13 players who survived. “I know those people that lost their lives there would really appreciate that. I appreciate it too. It’s nice to honour that and it really does mean a lot.”
Some of the survivors met privately with Stephenson before the Cup was introduced to the public.
“It’s tough ... listening to some of the parents,” he said afterwards. “It’s tough to talk to them (to) ... give your condolences.
“Nothing can replace a life, so you just try to help out as much as you can, and that’s what this day is all about.”
Stephenson, originally from Saskatoon and wearing a green Humboldt Strong T-shirt, was escorted by the RCMP as he carried the Cup into Humboldt’s Elgar Petersen Arena. A selection of games and activities, along with a giant blowup Broncos jersey, were on display outside the rink.
Stephenson was joined by more than a dozen current and former professional players for Humboldt Hockey Day. It was organized by the National Hockey League and National Hockey League Players’ Association to celebrate the city of 6,000.
Two of Stephenson’s friends, Dahlgren and Brayden Camrud, were among the crash survivors. Dahlgren said he heard from Stephenson soon after Washington beat the Vegas Golden Knights last spring to win the Cup for the first time. “When Chandler won the thing, the first thing he texted was, ‘You’re coming to Humboldt with me,’ and right there I was like, ‘Wow! OK! Let’s do this, Chandler.’
“So to be here now and have this celebration and help Humboldt heal is something special,” Dahlgren said. “That’s really nice of Chandler and everybody that’s coming out from the NHL. Everybody in the community is loving this, and this is going to be a great event for sure.”
The Broncos were on their way to a Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League playoff game in Nipawin when the crash occurred April 6. Jaskirat Singh Sidhu, who was driving the truck, was not injured. He is charged with 16 counts of dangerous driving causing death and 13 counts of dangerous driving causing bodily injury.
But the colourful Carter, 27, was also taking some time to relax. He was on Instagram Live fishing on a jet ski Thursday night and Friday morning reportedly from a cottage owned by his uncle, Butch Carter, the former Toronto Raptors head coach.
Duron Carter also took questions from fans as he fished. It’s the only way they can interact with the outgoing receiver, who recently deleted his very entertaining Twitter account.
“Twitter’s full of too many silly ass people,” Carter said.
Carter was asked if he’s thinking of joining the Ticats.
“You don’t reach out to a team and be like, ‘Hey, you guys want me,’ ” Carter said. “Ya’ll don’t understand free agency or getting cut.
“I don’t think ya’ll understand players. Period. Dude just got hurt. You should be more worried about dude getting hurt than having me come replace him. What the hell is that?”
Carter said he’d just started fishing on a brilliantly sunny morning but the fish weren’t co-operating.
His most pressing need was for a pair of polarized sunglasses to not only cut the glare coming off the water but also give him clearer vision of what was going on beneath the surface.
“Nah, no bites yet, I just got out here, like, 20 minutes ago,” he said. “I need some glass (so) I could see through the water so I could just throw my lure right next to a fish.
“Hopefully they are hungry this morning. I mean, they should be. They’re fish right?”
One fan reminded Carter that tremendous fishing exists in Saskatchewan. However, Carter admitted he never sampled it during his time with the Riders.
Earlier, Carter had a post where he said he’d caught two fish that evening but didn’t say what species, their size or what lake he was on.