Two former players with the Estevan Bruins organization are among the 15 people killed in a collision on Friday involving the Humboldt Broncos team bus and a semi-trailer unit.
The Broncos were travelling from Humboldt to Nipawin for Game 5 of a Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League's semifinal series against the Nipawin Hawks. The accident occurred on Highway 35 approximately 30 kilometres north of Tisdale, at the junction with Highway 335, when the semi t-boned the bus.
Emergency crews were dispatched to the scene.
Twenty-nine people were on board the bus at the time of the collision, including the driver.
The Saskatchewan RCMP announced early on Saturday that 14 people have died as a result of this collision. The other 15 people on the bus were sent to hospital with a variety of injuries; some of these people have injuries that are critical in nature.
The RCMP announced on Saturday afternoon that a 15th person had died from the collision.
The RCMP has not released the names of those killed in the accident, but Broncos head coach and general manager Darcy Haugan and assistant coach Mark Cross were among those who died in the collision, according to posts on social media.
Haugan played for the Bruins in the 1995-96 season. He returned to the Bruins in December 2000 as an assistant coach. Haugan held that title until January 2003, when he became the interim co-head coach and general manager, a role he remained in for the rest of the season.
He then became the head coach and general manager of the North West Junior B Hockey League's (NWJHL) North Peace Navigators. He coached the Navigators to NWJHL championship victories in 2004, 2005, 2008, 2014 and 2015 and won the coach of the year award in 2011, 2012 and 2013.
Haugan was hired as the Broncos head coach and general manager in August 2015.
Cross spent three seasons playing with the Bruins from 2008-09 to 2010-11. He had 38 goals and 51 assists for 89 points in 166 career regular season games. and added three goals and seven points in nine postseason contests.
He also captured the team's Bill Shinske Ethics Award in 2010 and 2011 for the character he demonstrated on and off the ice. The award is one of the most prestigious for the club.
Cross then spent five seasons playing for Ontario's York University in USports (formerly CIS).
He was in his first season with the Broncos.
Nipawin RCMP along with police officers from the surrounding detachments and specialized investigational support units have been on the scene of the collision.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the Broncos and their families. It can be found at https://ca.gofundme.com/funds-for-humboldt-broncos.
The Mercury will have more details as they become available.
