The scope of the tragedy that has befallen the Humboldt Broncos is almost more than this country can bear.
James McCarthy/NNSL photo
Fifteen people died when a bus carrying the team to a Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League playoff game collided with a tractor-trailer near Tisdale, Sask., on Friday afternoon, touching off an outpouring of grief and mourning around the country and in the hockey world.
Brad Mueller was one of those who was following what was happening and said it was beyond anything he could comprehend.
“We were on that long stretch of Highway 63 heading to Fort McMurray and the weather took a turn for the worse,” he said. “We hit a patch of black ice and the bus lost control. We started spinning and the bus took a rail slide down the highway for a bit.”
Mueller said everyone began thinking the worst but the bus driver did a great job avoiding the traffic going in the other direction.
The bus ended up in a ditch off the highway but thankfully, everyone survived with only minor injuries.
“We were fortunate, for sure,” he said. “There were bumps and bruises with the guys getting tossed around.”
That incident paled in comparison to what happened to the Broncos, said Mueller, but the incident in 1994 still caused him to get the jitters as he moved on to play professionally in the Central Hockey League, where long bus rides, or “iron lungs”, were the norm.
“I remember those long rides and any time the drivers tapped the brakes, for any reason, I grabbed a hold of something,” he said.
As soon as the news filtered out about the Broncos, Mueller said he and his teammates from Fort McMurray texted each other just to talk and remind themselves that they were lucky.
“Some of these guys, I haven't talked to in a while,” he said. “I sent a text out to tell them I was thinking about them and they all replied and said the same thing. Hockey is such a tight-knit community and we always stay in contact with each other. Everyone knows everyone and it's such a small world.”
Mueller said he knows he was lucky nearly a quarter-century ago to escape unscathed but those who survived last Friday's crash will be scarred forever and will have the toughest time of all.
“I can't even begin to imagine what those survivors are going through,” he said. “I just hope everyone supports them in any way they can because a lot of people are affected. The families that are going to be burying their loved ones need so much support right now, also. The hockey world is a special one and we'll all band together for them. What we've seen so far – the GoFundMe account, the people offering free rooms for the families, things like that, has been unmatched by anything we've seen before and from tragedy comes strength.”
That GoFundMe account Mueller mentioned has reached $5.2 million as of press time, making it one of the largest campaigns in the world and dwarfing the highest-ever Canadian-based campaign, which raised $1.1 million for the victims of the wildfires in Fort McMurray last summer. All money raised from the campaign will go to the families affected by the crash.
The SJHL is also taking donations on behalf of the Broncos and the Yk Minor Hockey Association confirmed it will be hosting a charity game between the atom and peewee Wolfpack teams on Sunday at the Multiplex beginning at 5 p.m. Admission for the game is by donation and there will be a 50-50 draw, raffle table and silent auction. All proceeds will be given to the GoFundMe campaign.