Ex-NHLers face off against WHL players to help Humboldt heal
Several members of the Western Hockey League’s Calgary Hitmen laced up with former NHL players Sunday in a charity game to support the Humboldt Broncos.
“As not only a hockey mom but as a billet mom, the need to bring our entire hockey family together and start to heal was something I felt necessary,” co-organizer Kim McRae said ahead of the event at the Parson Centennial Arena in Okotoks.
Co-organizer Lesley Plumley said more than $14,000 was raised for the Broncos at the Sunday afternoon event.
“The hockey community is so close-knit, and I don’t think some of the folks here in Calgary and the surrounding communities have had an opportunity to get together as a group,” she said.
Sixteen people died, including 10 players, and 13 others were injured April 6 when a Calgaryowned transport truck and the Humboldt Broncos team bus collided at a rural intersection in Saskatchewan. A GoFundMe campaign for the victims and their families has surpassed $11 million.
Hitmen participants in Sunday ’s game included Andrew Viggars, Layne Todder, Zach Huber and Dakota Krebbs, who were joined by many past and present WHL and Alberta Junior Hockey League players.
Former Calgary Flames defenceman Mike Commodore, Mike Sullivan — whose 11 seasons included 205 games with the Flames — and Calgary native Tyler Sloan, whose career included three seasons with the Washington Capitals, were among the ex-NHLers who took part.