On Friday, April 6, a bus accident involving the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League team Humboldt Broncos ultimately took the lives of 16 players and staff members. It was a terrible blow to the families of those lost, the town of Humboldt and the entire hockey community.
The hockey community is very large. It’s international. However, it’s very interconnected and feels much smaller as many players, coaches and other staff cross paths and get to know each other. That is certainly true for the SUNY Potsdam men’s hockey team. In August, they welcomed freshman forward Brett Horn (Cary, N.C./Humboldt Broncos) to campus and the program. Horn spent the second half of the 2016-17 season with the Broncos, so when the news reached him hours after the accident, it hit him hard.
“When I heard initially about the accident, through my mind was like maybe some injuries,” said Horn. “You don’t want to hear about any fatalities. Just as the word kept coming in, newer and newer updates, it was so surreal to try and wrap my head around that something like that could happen, especially in Saskatchewan.”
Potsdam is over 1800 miles away from Humboldt and being so far away from his former teammates made it tougher for Horn.
“Saturday I woke up and I wanted it to be a big nightmare, a dream that didn’t actually happen,” Horn said. “I was numb and I wanted everything to be alright, but at that point it hurt at how devastating it was. That evening my parents asked if would I like to go out there. I was said absolutely. It was the end of spring break so I knew that classes would be starting up again, but I had to be out there to be around everyone.”
Horn spent about a week out west, visiting with survivors, his host or billet family from the previous season and former Broncos like himself.
“We talked about as much good as we could think of, any good moments,” said Horn. “Anything that could come to mind to try and ease the pain was nice to do.”
While in Humboldt, Horn became aware of the fundraising effort to support the families and the survivors. A local woman, Sylvie Kellington, started a GoFundMe page shortly after the accident.
“Initially the lady that set it up, she just wanted $1500. She wasn’t setting it up to go off like it did. It was to buy coffee, to give a helping hand to the billet families and the actual families,” Horn said. “The goals just kept getting raised and kept getting broken. I think it was just by the next evening that was at $2 million. Then they set the $4 million goal and now it’s well over $11 million.”
Horn’s teammates were ready to support the cause.
“I just called one of the guys, (junior goaltender) Nate Skidmore, and said ‘Hey, have you seen the jersey movement on social media? My jersey’s up for grabs. Do what you can with it.’ I didn’t really know that they were going to do the fundraiser. To hear the money they raised and that it’s going to go to the GoFundMe, it’s been really great to see. None of those guys played in that league, other than myself, but obviously we’re a tight group here. That kind of support is just fantastic to see.”
On April 12, Potsdam’s men’s and women’s hockey teams wore their jerseys around campus to raise awareness of the tragedy. They also set up a table in Barrington Student Union to pass out green ribbons, the Broncos’ color, and collect donations to support them. The teams raised $862 to give to Humboldt’s GoFundMe page, which has now seen over $14 million in donations from over 65 countries and more than 100,000 people. Anyone still wanting to contribute can donate until midnight tonight, when the page will stop accepting funds-https://www.gofundme.com/funds-for-humboldt-broncos.
Horn returned to Potsdam on Sunday night to join his current teammates, get back into a routine and try to focus on finishing up the semester.
