Athletes, teams honour Humboldt victims

Some wrote “Broncos” on their caps or shoes, others sported the word across their backs.

Athletes and teams across North America have been paying tribute to the Humboldt Broncos after Friday’s deadly collision between a truck and a bus that was carrying the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League team to a playoff game in the province.

The Winnipeg Jets and Chicago Blackhawks honoured the Humboldt team by wearing jerseys with the word BRONCOS across their name plates during their regular-season finale in Winnipeg Saturday night.

Before the game, a moment of silence was observed, with players from both teams standing in a circle around centre ice.

“It was very powerful,” Jets head coach Paul Maurice told reporters after the game. “Again that connection that all hockey players have together, they go through that idea of travelling as a team, being part of a team.

“It was really emotional.” The Jets and Blackhawks donated $25,000 to the Broncos while the proceeds from Winnipeg’s 50/50 draw for the night were also donated.

The NHL pitched in $25,000 while other teams — the Pittsburgh Penguins, Toronto Maple Leafs and Calgary Flames — made donations via a GoFundMe page that had raised more than $3 million by Sunday morning.

The Leafs and Montreal Canadiens wore Humboldt Broncos decals on their helmets while playing each other in Toronto Saturday night, as did the Oilers and Canucks, who also wore Broncos-coloured green and yellow lapel ribbons in Edmonton.

Don Cherry spoke briefly about the crash on his Coach’s Corner segment before introducing a montage of photos of every member of the Broncos team.

“There’s no words to describe what’s happened here,” Cherry said.

The crash killed 15 people. RCMP have said 14 others on the bus were injured.

Bill Chow, the president of the SJHL, called the tributes and support “absolutely overwhelming.”

The tributes extended beyond the hockey world.

Joey Votto, the Toronto-born Cincinnati Reds superstar, took his position at first base Saturday afternoon with “Humboldt Broncos” written in white on his black cleats.

And Blue Jays right-hander Marcus Stroman had “SK” written on his cap.

The Blue Jays and Rangers observed a moment of silence on the field before the game.

Afterwards, Stroman said he would be auctioning his cap and donating the proceeds to the Broncos.