Like everyone throughout the province of Saskatchewan, the hearts and minds of the Battlefords North Stars are with the Humboldt Broncos after the team bus was involved in a devastating accident Friday.
“It’s been extremely tough for everyone,” North Stars assistant coach Boyd Wakelin said. “On that night, [head coach and general manager] Brandon [Heck] had gone back to Camrose to be with his family for the weekend and had just arrived there when the news came out, so [goaltender coach] Travis [Harrington] and I went to spend time with the guys and make sure that we were there for them.”
“It’s certainly not what you want to hear, especially with it happening to so many guys that we know,” North Stars forward MacGregor Sinclair added. “It’s been good for us though that we’ve been around one another for the last few days. It’s like having a second group of brothers and being able to be with each other under some not great circumstances has been huge.”
Having been knocked out of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League playoffs by the Estevan Bruins Thursday, the North Stars players were preparing to hang out with one another over the weekend before parting ways for the off-season when the mood suddenly changed.
“It was such a turn of events,” North Stars defenceman Connor Manegre said. “A day earlier we had lost out to Estevan in what was the final junior game for some of us, and then we were all in disbelief when the news came out about what had happened.
“Being a Saskatchewan boy, you play a lot against or with those guys along the way through minor hockey, so you get to know them quite well.”
One of the players that many of the North Stars know is forward Kaleb Dahlgren, who was in stable condition according to a post from his family on Twitter
Dahlgren was a member of the Battlefords AAA Stars from 2013 to 2015 and was teammates with North Stars players Layne Young, Troy Gerein, Owen Lamb, Braydon Buziak, Logan Nachtegaele, Ryan Rewerts and Manegre.
“My first thought when I met in Midget AAA was that he was way too nice of a guy,” Manegre said. “We always loved having him around as he’s the type of person that’s always supportive.
“It was the same when we moved up to the SJHL and he played for Notre Dame and Humboldt. He was saying the nicest things out there and I’d have to tell him ‘Dalhgren, we’re playing right now and we’re supposed to be battling one another.’ He’s someone we all have a ton of respect for and we all know that he has a ton of fight left in him.”
Manegre was also close with Broncos captain Logan Schatz, who was one of 15 people who lost their lives in the accident.
“He was an amazing player,” Manegre said. “I remember one time trying to play man-on-man against him and he put the puck in the back of the net. I went to the bench and said ‘I was going up against Schatz, what was I supposed to do.’
“That one hit me hard. I loved that guy and it’s just so tragic what happened to him and everyone else on the team.”
For Wakelin, the passing of Broncos assistant coach Mark Cross was one that struck him hard, as he played against him during his time with the North Stars.
Cross was a member of the Estevan Bruins from 2008 to 2011 and battled against Wakelin for two seasons.
“When I started coaching he was one of the first guys that welcomed me to the league,” Wakelin said.
“I have a lot of buddies that played against him in the summer leagues and I think everyone has great things to say about Mark. He was a really nice guy and no one had a bad word to say about him.”
Although it’s been a dark last few days for everyone involved in the hockey world, the one positive has been the amount of support the Broncos have received, which has been headlined by a GoFundMe fundraising campaign that had brought in over $8 million as of Tuesday night.
“We’ve been trying to stay off of social media a bit with everything that’s been going on, but it’s incredible to see just how much everyone has wanted to help the Broncos out,” Manegre said.
“I know [North Stars goaltender] Joel [Grzybowski] was in Saskatoon to see one of the guys at the hospital, and there was Prime Minister [Justin] Trudeau, Don Cherry and [Edmonton] Oilers head coach Todd McLellan were there to see the players. The support from all over the world has been amazing to see.”
