It’s always tough when tragedy hits close to home, but what
happens when it hits directly at home. That has been one of the million
thoughts that have passed through my mind since Friday night.
I had the pleasure of providing play by play for the
Humboldt Broncos for about 15 games this season. I travelled with the team on
the bus occasionally, including a trip to Nipawin. I’ve closed my eyes numerous
times this past weekend and just thought about sitting in the bus with the team
and looking around and seeing the faces that are no longer with us and others
that were severely injured.
I spent 5 years in Estevan as the voice of the Bruins. One
of the rookies in my rookie season was Mark Cross. It didn’t take me long to
figure out that Mark was going to be a future leader of the Bruins, if he wasn’t
already. Veterans like Kyle Garagan, Kyle Stroh, Riley Tetreault, Liam Brennan,
Brody Haygarth, Brant Harris and others took Mark under their wing and groomed
him to be the next leader of the Estevan Bruins.
I wish Mark and I spent more time talking about his
teammates this year. But we did share a few memories of guys like Dylan Smith,
Lucas Stubel , Troy Hunter , Josh Jelinski, Ty Ariss and others. The smile on
his face when we talked about those guys said it all. He loved his teammates
and every single teammate of Mark loved him back.
I spent a lot of time on the bus with Mark, three years in
Estevan, and a few trips this year in Humboldt. In Mark’s rookie season he
would sit right behind me, his 19 year old season he would move a little
further back and in his final season, Mark would sit at the back of the bus in
the “good seats” that would allow for some cards games. Then this season as a
coach, Mark would sit in front of me. On my first bus trip this season with the
Broncos, I spent a few minutes thinking how Mark went full circle (or whatever shape
you want to call it) sitting on the bus.
On the ice, Mark was a solid two way center, he always
contributed at both ends of the ice. The small dimensions of the Civic Auditorium
suited Mark’s game perfectly. One on ice memory that we discussed a couple of
months ago was the final goal at the Civic Auditorium, Mark remembered it even
better than I did, as he should, it was his final point in Jr Hockey as he got
the assist on Ryan Andersen’s goal. My favorite memory with the Bruins is
always going to be the bonding that took place with the team after the final
game in the Civic Auditorium. I’m not sure there are too many broadcasters who
are lucky enough to take part in that special moment in Junior Hockey, but the
memories from that night will make me smile for the rest of my life. If there
has been anything that has helped me over the last few days is seeing all the
pictures from Mark’s teammates and remembering the good times we all had in
Estevan.
When I heard that Mark was hired as the assistant coach of
the Broncos, I think there was no one in Humboldt who was more excited than me.
One of the main reasons why I wanted to come back out of “retirement” and do
some play by play for the Broncos was because Mark was with the team. I enjoyed
our pregame talks before the games and our chats at the gym. There’s no doubt
in my mind Mark was going to be a head coach if he wanted to. The Broncos had a
quite a run in the second half of the season, after Christmas the only time the
team lost back to back games was in March after the team had their playoff spot
clinched. On the ice, the Broncos kept getting better and better and I think
the biggest reason for that was the work of Mark, Darcy and Chris.
Mark’s parents were regulars at the Civic Auditorium and the
Elgar Petersen Arena. They would come watch every game that Mark would play;
sometimes they would be accompanied by Mark’s girlfriend Molly. They would
travel from Strasbourg to not only Estevan, but to every single rink in the
SJHL. I’m sure they can’t count on one hand, the amount of Mark’s games they
missed. I remember one time at the end of my first season, Mark’s Dad came up
to me and said “You know Blaine, I’m sure you’re an excellent announcer, but I’ve
never heard you call a game. “ Most Junior Hockey parents have to rely on the
radio to hear their kids play, but not Mark’s parents. I really enjoyed talking
to them in Humboldt this season, especially smiling and waving to them from the
press box at the EPA. My heart is bleeding is for Mark’s family right now, and
they are in my thoughts.
One thing I’ve enjoyed over the last few days was reading
the many articles from Mark’s family, and his teammates at York talk about how
great of a guy he was, it just confirms what I already know.
Mark treated everyone with respect, he was kind, he was a
leader to every team that he played and coached for. He always had a smile on
his face and made sure he made everyone around him feel important. I’m so lucky
to call him not only a “working colleague”, but a friend. One thing I’ve
realized over the last few days, even though Mark was six years younger than
me, I really looked up to him.
I spent the past three years as the match of Brody Hinz
through the Big Brother & Little Brother program Most of time spent with
Brody was watching and talking sports. Among his loves were Ron McLean and Don
Cherry, he often talked about McLean’s stories on Hometown Hockey and Don Cherry
memorial tributes on Coaches Corner. Besides
Ron and Don, Brody loved the Winnipeg Jets, the San Francisco 49ers , Toronto
Blue Jays, Saskatchewan Roughriders and of course the Humboldt Broncos.
Brody spent his time volunteering with Big Brothers, Soup
Kitchen, his church, the HCI Mohawks Football team and other sport teams at the
high school. I’m probably missing a few since volunteering was a passion for
Brody. He started volunteering with the Broncos this season and was planning to
continue working with the Broncos next year. He was looking into a career
possibly in sports administration and he was taken from us, way too soon.
There’s no doubt I feel a strong connection with Tyler
Bieber., We grew up in Humboldt, we loved sports and we both became
broadcasters. Tyler’s true passion was volunteer coaching, there were a few
times this season I had to fill in for him as Radio announcer so Tyler could
coach basketball. Tyler has been a volunteer coach with the HCI Mohawks
Football team for many years, but my first memory with him and the football
team, was 15 years ago when Tyler was volunteering with the team as an equipment
manager. My heart goes out to Tyler’s family.
My interactions with Darcy Haugen were limited,
unfortunately it was only after Friday’s tragedy that I recall seeing Darcy’s pictures
inside of the old Civic Auditorium in Estevan. I really only have one memory of
Darcy. When I travelled with the Broncos to Nipawin a couple of months ago,
Darcy brought one of his sons on the bus. As you can imagine, the little guy
was beyond excited. I remember him asking Darcy a million questions, and I kept
wondering if Darcy was going to get mad or lose his cool, but each and every
time he looked at his son, and I just saw smiles and warm kindness. Darcy
answered every single question and the tone of his voice was with loving care.
Like many others, I find myself now thinking I wish I could’ve gotten to know
Darcy better.
There was a sign in the area by our Tim Horton’s in December
that said over 430 volunteer hours provided by the Humboldt Broncos team.
Considering that was in December, I could only imagine what that total would be
now. Volunteer work is what Junior A Hockey is all about. The community comes
out and supports the team and the team comes out and support the community. I
should say region, the Broncos not only volunteered in Humboldt, but they spent
time in Watson, Cudworth, Bruno and so many of the small towns in our area.
Humboldt lost a huge chunk of our heart and spirit on Friday.
While I always sat in front of the bus, I was always one of the
last guys off. The players had to unload the all the equipment while I was
lucky enough to head straight to my car and drive home. On my last bus trip
with the Broncos, 20 year Connor Lukan stopped and offered me to go ahead of
me. I respectfully declined, but even before Friday that small, kind gesture
really meant a lot to me.
Heading into the first game of the playoffs against the
Melfort Mustangs, the one player who I kept thinking about was Jaxon
Joseph. Joseph was traded to the Broncos
from Melfort in the middle of the season. He excelled after his trade to Humboldt,
ending up with 28 goals. But no doubt, Joseph was highly motivated for Game 1
of the playoffs at the Northern Lights Palace. Joseph responded leading the
Broncos with 2 goals and an assist in a 7-2 win over Melfort. Joseph ended the
series with 6 goals. It’s always great to see when a motivated player like
Joseph not only succeed but thrive in the moment. All I can remember from that
night was hearing the boos from the Mustangs fans, but all I could see was the
smile on Jaxon’s face.
Sometime over these next few days please take time to learn
more about Kaleb Dalhgren and all the volunteer work he does. Along with
Diabeauties program, Kaleb spent countless hours volunteering at the rink,
playing floor hockey and helping out at the local schools. I’ve heard a lot
stories from my friends who have kids, and they all have said that Kaleb is a
really nice kid and how great he treated their own. Kaleb was very
approachable, he would say Hi, how’s it going when you walk pass him, and he
was always game for an interview. On a team full of special kids, Kaleb definitely
stands out and I’m happy that he is still here with us.
There will never be a day in my life that I won’t forget about
those there were taken from us. Like everyone else I’m keeping the other
players and Dana in my thoughts and hope that they will all be able to go home
some day.
When people ask how I’m doing, I’m grieving, but I’m not
grieving alone. I’m grieving with family, friends, my community, my province
and really the entire world.
This past weekend I had a lot of What Ifs in my mind, but
now the question has to be changed from What If to What Can I do. And right now
the only thing I can do is help share the stories of those we lost on Friday,
April 6.
