Four Sask. players named to Canada world junior hockey championship team
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Berkly Catton, Brayden Yager, Caden Price and Tanner Howe were all named.
Washington Capitals forward Chandler Stephenson spent Friday trying to bring some joy to the city of Humboldt — with a little help from the Stanley Cup.
Chandler Stephenson, with the Stanley Cup in his grasp, greets fans at the Humboldt Uniplex on Aug. 24, 2018. (Keenan Sorokan/650 CKOM)
The 24-year-old Stephenson, who hails from Saskatoon, committed to bringing the cup to Humboldt while his team was still playing in the NHL final.
He followed through on his promise Aug. 24, and brought more than a dozen current and former NHL players along for Humboldt Hockey Day.
The worldwide hockey community rallied around the small Saskatchewan town after the Humboldt Broncos team bus collided with a semi truck April 6. The crash left 16 members of the Broncos organization dead and 13 others injured.
Stephenson said a visit with the Stanley Cup was just one more way of showing the hockey world cares.
The #StanleyCup says it's final goodbye in #Humboldt #Sask pic.twitter.com/pPvZrLdh0E
— Keenan Sorokan (@KeenanSorokan) August 24, 2018
“Nothing can replace the lives, and so you just try to help out as much as you can. That’s what this day was all about,” he said.
Kaleb Dahlgren, one of the players injured in the crash, said he was honoured Stephenson asked him to return to Humboldt for the trip.
“Everybody takes their healing time differently and there’s different things that happen. And so for some people this will help and for some people it won’t help. But for me, this day is huge in the healing process,” he said.
#StanleyCup visits Humboldt Broncos memorial site. While their Stanley Cup dreams went unfulfilled, we thought we’d bring Stanley to them. God Bless 🎚 RIP Saskatchewan highway intersection #35 & #335) @NHL @HockeyHallFame @HumboldtBroncos #HumboldtStrong pic.twitter.com/ST3eUfXCIg
— Philip Pritchard (@keeperofthecup) August 24, 2018
For Jamie Brockman, the Broncos’ newly-minted president, Friday was about looking ahead.
“There’s been a lot of sadness in this rink,” Brockman said. “Today’s about celebrating and moving forward.”
Brockman aknowledged there’s nothing normal about the season ahead for the team, but he said the players are ready to get started.
“We’ve got our camp this afternoon,” he said. “I think a lot of the people are looking forward to getting on the ice.”
Former NHL player Chris Joseph, who lost his son Jaxon in the April 6 crash, said he enjoyed having a day set aside for celebrating.
“We’ve had a lot of days that have been quite sad, and today’s got a totally different feel,” he said.
Where the #StanleyCup goes, lines follow. #Humboldt #Sask pic.twitter.com/Y7BHZ0Farn
— Keenan Sorokan (@KeenanSorokan) August 24, 2018