BRONCOS STAND TALL AFTER INCREDIBLE SEASON
Considering the circumstances, it was a monumental achievement for the Humboldt Broncos to even ice a team for the 2018-19 Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League season.
But what a season it turned out to be.
Decimated and devastated by the April 6 bus crash that killed 16 people and injured 13 others, garnering headlines and an outpouring of support around the world, the Broncos nearly reached the league’s final four despite having had to rebuild the organization virtually from scratch.
“It’s a pretty amazing result,” marvelled Aaron Lukan, an ardent follower of the Broncos since their inception in 1970. “Everybody’s very, very proud of this team.”
At Humboldt’s Elgar Petersen Arena, Lukan typically sat just below the 29 banners that honour everyone who was on the team bus when it collided with a semi-trailer truck while en route to a playoff game in Nipawin.
While nobody will ever forget the tragedy, the Broncos’ on-ice success allowed a new storyline to start dominating the headlines.
After posting a 35-19-3-1 regular-season record and the league’s fifth-best winning percentage (.638), the Broncos battled the Estevan Bruins in a hard-fought series. Estevan won 3-2 in overtime Tuesday in the seventh and deciding game of a quarter-final.
Although the loss stings, the Broncos can derive considerable solace from advancing as far as they did despite icing only two returnees — Brayden Camrud and Derek Patter — and just one dispersal-draft addition (Bryson Cecconi) during the playoffs.
“It’s hard to put it into words,” said Michael Clarke, a 20-yearold Calgarian whose fellow assistant captains were Camrud and Patter. “You’ve got 20 new guys coming in here, with what happened last year.
“The guys had something to rally around, and we’ve been playing for the guys who are no longer here and are no longer able to play all year.
“The guys in the room, they’re dedicated and they’re committed. We love each other and we’re a family. It shows on the ice.”
The regular season was not without its setbacks. Most notably, the Broncos and Nathan Oystrick — who succeeded the late Darcy Haugan as head coach and general manager — parted ways in late December.
Oystrick played an integral role in the assembly and ultimate success of the 2018-19 Broncos.
The same can be said of Jason Neville, who stepped down as assistant GM in mid-September after recruiting many of the players who comprised the team.
Neville was replaced by Luke Strueby, who has kept the pipeline of players flowing. Oystrick was succeeded by his assistant, ex-NHL-er Scott Barney.
One of Barney’s first moves was to appoint as an assistant Troy Smith, who arrived with extensive junior experience.
The mid-season upheaval could have disrupted a fragile or marginal group, but the Broncos have continued to build on the foundation established in the spring and summer of 2018.
“Honestly, there were no expectations other than getting a team on the ice and getting the Humboldt organization moving forward,” Broncos president Jamie Brockman said.
“Nathan put a lot in at the beginning of the year, as did Scott. They’ve done extremely well. There was never any pressure from the organization that, ‘You guys have to win, or else.’”
But win, they did. How was that possible?
“We had 70 or 80 players here in training camp,” Barney recalled. “Within a week or 10 days, they came together faster than any team I’ve been involved with, and I played professional hockey for 19 years.
“They came together as brothers, playing for each other and the community, and went through a season that not many normal junior A hockey players go through.”
The Stanley Cup was a special guest on Day 1 of training camp.
We’ve been playing for the guys who are no longer here and are no longer able to play all year.
Humboldt’s regular-season opener, a 2-1 loss to Nipawin on Sept. 12, was televised nationally by TSN.
The Broncos lost their first two games before reversing their on-ice fortunes. Their run of subsequent success included a 10-game winning streak.
“It’s a testament to the players, but also to the fans who have come out every night to every home game,” Barney said. “On the road, they’re always there to support us. The players and myself, we never forget that.”
The season-ticket base has nearly doubled, to 750 from 400. A team that averaged 500 spectators per game in 2017-18 now routinely welcomes upwards of 900 supporters.
“It’s crazy,” Clarke said. “From Day 1, they’ve supported us, and obviously they haven’t stopped.”
Consider the attendance for this year’s three home playoff games at the 1,750-seat Elgar Petersen Arena: 1,231, 1,044 and 1,521.
“We’ve overachieved in a big way, I think,” Lukan said.
Overseeing it all, since Day 1 of the season, has been Barney.
He minimized distractions that could have resulted from all the media attention.
If there were media interviews to be done, they were generally handled by Barney, Smith and/ or Brockman. The players were shielded from the spotlight.
“We just want them to focus on playing hockey,” Barney said. “I’ve said to numerous media outlets that the best medicine for these kids is to just go out there and play hockey, and for the fans to come into the rink and smell the air and enjoy the game of hockey.
“Are they healed? Probably not. I don’t know, and that’s an answer I don’t think anybody can give. Only they can let you know when they’re healed, but I think it helps, probably, just coming to the games and getting back in the rink.”