Humboldt Broncos to return to the ice after bus crash killed 16
Their story is the most heart-wrenching in all of sports this year.
We all remember how the Humboldt Broncos hockey team was devastated in early April, when the team bus collided with a semi-truck, leaving 16 members of the club’s family dead.
The tragedy brought tributes from people all over the world.
The last thing anyone was thinking about was playing hockey again.
But #Humboldtstrong took an inspirational step with one simple tweet.
Yes, the Broncos are returning to the ice.
It is chilling to see the last part of the tweet, as the team must look for a general manager/coach to replace the late Darcy Haugan, who was killed in the crash.
Perhaps in a sign of returning to normalcy, one of the survivors, Kaleb Dahlgren, announced that he’ll play collegiate hockey for York University in Toronto, according to Sports Illustrated.
The fact that Dahlgren is in a position to say or do anything is remarkable enough, as the 20-year old forward suffered a fractured skull and several broken vertebrae in the crash. However, it seems like he’s making incredible progress.
To put his injuries into perspective, he awoke in the hospital from the crash thinking that somebody had checked him from behind.
His father, Mark, told CBC News that Kaleb’s survival is truly a blessing.
“With his type of brain injury, only three to five percent of people recover from that,” Mark Dahlgren said. “There was lots of neurological cognitive testing done, and they couldn’t find any deficits, and so that in itself is miraculous.”
The next step for the Broncos comes the weekend of May 25-27, when 80 players will be invited to try out for the team. At this point, Humboldt is unsure if any of the injured players will be back on the club.
Team officials are expecting massive demand for season tickets, which will go on sale shortly.
It doesn’t matter where or who they play next season, the Broncos will have a support base that stretches even beyond their own country.
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