After hearing about a tragedy like the one that happened to the Humboldt Broncos Junior hockey team, we all yearn for a sense of comfort and community. Of course, nothing can make families and friends of the victims feel ‘comfortable’ but we can all try to do our part in sending love and wishes their way.
For the rest of us in the hockey world, likely a friend or a friend of a friend or someone not many degrees of separation away played for or in or near Humboldt at some point. And for whatever reason, hearing someone talk about their experiences with the team, the town or even the province of Saskatchewan, has some kind of warming feeling for me. I suppose it’s the idea of touching a little piece of Humboldt from a distance; a way to feel more connected and to express condolences to someone who was there.
This was the case for me this week (and for many others in Beijing’s International Ice Hockey community) when I knew that my BIIH buddy, Keswick’s Eddie Gale, had a connection there, though I wasn’t sure exactly what it was. I finally asked him about it and he answered like this (in the most modest possible tone, I should add):
“Yeah, I got traded to the Broncos from the Notre Dame Hounds in my last year of Junior. Then we won the whole thing, the Royal Bank Cup (Canada’s National Junior Tier 2 Championship). I scored the winning goal in the final, 1-0 against Camrose. My stick and gloves are in the Hockey Hall of Fame (THE HHOF in Toronto). It’s killing me not being there for the vigil…”
For some reason, hearing Eddie tell me this made me gulp and feel some moisture in my eyes… It felt like he also lost a part of himself in the tragedy – he was actually ON THE TEAM just 10 years ago. Though filled with sadness, the story also warmed my heart just a bit because I could hear how proud he was of that moment and how proud and happy the whole town of Humboldt must have been then too. These emotions exist in me knowing that Eddie is a great and humble guy and I know his time in Humboldt helped make him this way. Coincidentally, his hockey-playing wife, Brodie, reached out to me online in 2015-16 about “coming to Beijing in a few years and wanting to connect with hockey people.” Now, they live here and Brodie teaches at an international school while Eddie coaches youth hockey and continues in his studies in the hopes to one day become a lawyer.
It’s hard for non-hockey people to fully understand how meaningful bus rides are for Junior, College and many other youth and pro hockey teams. I used to look forward to mine whenever we went to Atom, Peewee or Bantam provincial tournaments in Rivière-du-Loup, Jonquière or Mont-Laurier or when with John Abbott we would go to Chicoutimi, Trois-Rivières or Lennoxville and even once to play against Plattsburgh State across the border.
It didn’t matter where we were going – I mean, the opponent mattered and we’d think about that towards the end of the trip – but this was all about the journey with family on a bus.
It was awesome. I remember one time; I was shooting spitballs from the back of the bus, hitting people near the front on the back of their heads. There was no reaction for several minutes and I thought “nice, they don’t know who it is, haha…” Then after about 20 or so spitballs, 5-6 guys got up and charged at me down the aisle. I got stripped and they wouldn’t give my clothes back until I got off the bus in a parking lot… This stuff brings teams together.
Every single person who played hockey has one or a million bus stories about playing cards, singing songs, watching movies, talking about girlfriends and who knows what else. I saw Slapshot and Youngblood for the first time on a team bus – two of my favourites to this day.
Many of us around the hockey world – whether in Beijing, Boston, Hamilton or Humboldt – know about the love that is built on team bus rides. This is what makes this tragedy so heart-wrenching, outright horrible and hard to accept. Thanks to Eddie for sharing his story to help me feel like I was touching a little piece of Humboldt for a few short minutes.
Our deepest condolences go out to the families and friends of all those who have passed.
Rest in Peace
By: Mark Simon
为洪堡加油,冰球爱心行动 – 来自中国北京
在震惊中,我们听到洪堡青年冰球队发生悲剧的消息,我们都渴望能够给予他们一些关怀和交流。当然,我们明白无论我们做什么,也无法抚平受害者和他们的家人朋友所经历的伤痛,但是我们仍然希望尽自己的微薄之力,为他们做点什么。
就像日常生活中的朋友圈一样,在冰球的世界里,不知不觉我们也与洪堡这支遥远的冰球队产生了关联。在北京,我们也听到一些人谈起他们关于这支球队的一些记忆。这个小镇,以及萨斯喀彻温,让我感到了熟悉与温暖。这让我产生了一个想法,通过一种让人感觉亲近的方式,像遥远的人们表达我们的哀悼。
情况是这样的,这个星期我们得知在北京国际冰球联盟里,有位来自安大略省的朋友,Eddie Gale,我们询问了他很多关于洪堡的情况,Eddie告诉我们:是的,我青年联赛的最后一年是在洪堡度过的,在那里我们赢得了所有可以赢得的东西,皇家银行杯总冠军(加拿大全国二级青少年联赛冠军)。我在决赛里打进了唯一的进球,1-0战胜了卡姆罗斯队。我的球杆和手套被放入了冰球名人堂。没能为他们点起蜡烛守夜祈祷真的让我痛不欲生。
听到Eddie告诉我这些,不知道怎么了,我有点哽咽,说不出话来。。这种感觉就好像,Eddie也在这次悲剧中失去了他自己的一部分身体一样,是的,10年前,他就在这个队里。虽然这是个悲伤的故事,但是让我感到温暖的是,当我听到讲起那些故事的时候,能感觉到他是多么的骄傲成为洪堡队的一员,而洪堡也一定是一个快乐而祥和的地方。我知道Eddie是个伟大而谦虚的人,我也知道在他的青年时代,洪堡给他带来了很多帮助。巧合的是,Eddie的女朋友Brodie也是一位优秀的冰球选手,2015年的时候,她曾经跟我谈起,很想来北京,去认识一些在那里打冰球的人。而现在,他们就住在北京,Brodie是一所国际学校的老师,而Eddie则是一名青少年冰球教练,同时他在继续自己的学业,希望有一天可以成为一名律师。
对于非冰球运动员来说,很难了解乘巴士去异地比赛是一种什么样的感觉,无论是青少年队,大学队还是很多很多的职业队,每当我们踏上大巴赶赴赛场的时候,内心都充满期待。就像Peewee省或者Bantam省的锦标赛一样,我们经常需要乘车翻山越岭,经过Trois Riviè水库,有时甚至要到接近国境线的地方去比赛。
不管我们要去那里,思考对手都是最重要的部分,当然我们会在旅途的最后阶段才想起来,对我们来说,乘巴士去比赛,就是一次次与家人的旅行。我想起有一次,我坐在前座,往后面的队友身上扔纸团,被扔到的人试图找出谁是罪魁祸首,当然,我保持安静,心想:“很好,他们也不知道是谁干的,哈哈哈”,不过后来,我还是被发现了,5-6个人起身走过来,我被剥光了衣服,一直到车开到停车场,他们才把衣服还给了我。每个冰球运动员,都是很多关于巴士旅行的故事。唱歌,看电影,谈论女朋友。还记得我第一次看Slapshot就是在去客场比赛的巴士上。
只要有冰球的地方,无论北京、波士顿、汉密尔顿还是洪堡,巴士旅行总是充满了欢乐和爱。正是因为这一点,这场悲剧才让我们痛彻心扉、难以接受。感谢Eddie分享了他的故事,也让我可以在短短几分钟之内感觉到洪堡这个小镇的点点滴滴。我们像所有经历了这场悲剧的人表示慰问,对于那些不幸离开我们的人,致以深切的哀悼。
愿逝者安息。
作者: Mark Simon