‘Just utter sadness’
Windsor Hockey Heritage Society gathers public condolences following Humboldt Broncos tragedy
After one of the worst sports tragedies in Canadian history, the Windsor Hockey Heritage Society is stepping up to offer its support to the team and the families who were impacted.
On April 6, a bus carrying the Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team collided with a tractor trailer in rural Saskatchewan, killing 16 and leaving 13 injured, some of them seriously.
The cause of the accident remains unknown, but the incident has swept the country and the larger hockey world with grief.
Trina Norman, the president of the Windsor Hockey Heritage Society, said the group was compelled to do something.
“Personally, I was just so shocked and saddened by the whole thing,” Norman said. “It’s hard to imagine and it’s hard to put into words. Just utter sadness.”
The Windsor Hockey Heritage Society gave residents the opportunity to sign a book of con- dolence on April 14 and 15. The book and any cards left with the society will be sent to the mayor of Humboldt, Saskatchewan, to be forwarded to the Humboldt Broncos hockey team.
“We want to show the Humboldt Broncos hockey team that we stand with them,” she said.
The Windsor Hockey Heritage Society has also donated a sum of undisclosed money to the GoFundMe page that has been established to help the impacted families pay for funeral and medical costs.
“We just felt that, as the Hockey Heritage Society, that it was the right thing to do,” she said.
Although the incident happened in rural Saskatchewan, Norman said the story has rocked the nation. The need to do something or give back in some way is strong, she added.
“(Humboldt) is a small community, much like Windsor, about 6,000 people, and we feel deeply for them,” she said. “For the society, hockey is at the forefront for us, and we feel a connection through this.”