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Peter Soberlak didn鈥檛 want to believe it.
He received a text message on Friday night telling him about the bus crash in Saskatchewan that killed 14 members of the Humboldt Broncos junior A hockey team of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.
The tragedy is a horrible echo of what Soberlak went through with his Swift Current Broncos teammates in 1986, when Trent Kresse, Scott Kruger, Chris Mantyka and Brent Ruff were killed after the Western Hockey League team鈥檚 bus hit a patch of black ice and careened off the highway.
Soberlak is now athletic performance advisor at Thompson Rivers University. He also has a master鈥檚 degree in sport and exercise psychology.
When KTW contacted Soberlak, he was in the middle of arranging flights to meet up with former Swift Current Broncos鈥� teammates Sheldon Kennedy and Bob Wilkie, both of whom are co-survivors of the 1986 crash. The three plan on visiting and offering their support to the Humboldt survivors.
RCMP say 29 people were on the bus when it was T-boned by a semi-truck as the team made its way to Nipawin, where a playoff game was scheduled. Humboldt is a town of 6,000 about 100 kilometres east of Saskatoon.
Confirmed fatalities so far include the team鈥檚 captain, Logan Schatz, and the team鈥檚 coach, Darcy Haugan. Other names have yet to be confirmed.
鈥淲aking up this morning, the only way to describe it would just be heartbroken,鈥� Soberlak said. 鈥淛ust utterly heartbroken and devastated for the families and the survivors and the first responders and the billets and the friends.鈥�
Soberlak said he has been thinking about parents and families sitting by the phone, wondering if their loved one survived.
鈥淚nitially, that was just the most devastating thing for me, having been through that,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 imagine anything more heartbreaking and heart-wrenching.鈥�
Support for the team鈥檚 families has been pouring in. A GoFundMe fundraiser page brought in more than $1 million in just 16 hours, with the money to be dispersed to families of victims and survivors.
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鈥淚t just shows the love and support out there from everyone,鈥� Soberlak said.
Soberlak will be offering his own support, together with Kennedy and Wilkie, when they travel to Saskatchewan this weekend. He said the three asked themselves what they could do and, while they still don鈥檛 have concrete plans, they know that first, they have to be there.
鈥淲e can get out there and show our support. I don鈥檛 know what that support will look like yet, but it鈥檚 something we didn鈥檛 hesitate about,鈥� he said.
Soberlak said survivors of the crash will need all the support they can get, noting that recovery will be a long process. He added much has changed since 1986.
鈥淲hat I do know now, compared to when we went through something like this, is that now there are more supports in place. There鈥檚 more awareness of the impact, psychologically, and the impact of trauma, both acute and long-term,鈥� he said.
鈥淭here鈥檚 going to be a great deal of pain. You never get over something like this, but there are supports and there are mechanisms and outlets for people to get help and feel supported and feel loved and do what they can to deal with this.鈥�
Soberlak said right now, the accident is difficult to fathom and comprehend. He said while it鈥檚 not fair, nor just, it happened 鈥� and survivors and their family and friends must pick up the pieces and move on.
鈥淭his is a sad day. I know it touches everybody鈥檚 hearts,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o many people have a connection. It鈥檚 so much more than hockey 鈥� it鈥檚 not about hockey. It鈥檚 about family. It鈥檚 about those things that we can sometimes take for granted.
鈥淚鈥檝e never hugged my kids harder than I did this morning.鈥�
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