It is not too often that hockey’s Holy Grail can come to Humboldt.
But Aug. 24 was one of those rare occurrences as the City of Humboldt, the National Hockey League, the National Hockey League Players’ Association, and Chandler Stephenson came together to celebrate Hockey Day in Humboldt.
Stephenson brought the cup to Humboldt, making good on a promise he made prior to the start of the NHL playoffs, that should his Washington Capitals win the Stanley Cup, that Stephenson would use his day to come to Humboldt.
Aug. 24 was that day.
The crash hit close to home, says Stephenson.
“I’m from just down the road in Saskatoon and just being a part of hockey. It’s a sport that’s so much bigger than what you expect and all the friendships you build and the brotherhood you form throughout the years,” said Stephenson of the April 6 accident.
Bringing the cup was Stephenson’s way of showing his support for the community, and he hoped was a way to help the community heal.
“Just to give the community of Humboldt a day to come together and a day of happiness and just to see the cup and hopefully put some smiles on people’s faces,” he said.
The decision to bring the cup to Humboldt was a rather easy one for the 24-year-old Saskatoon native, who had a pair of friends on the Broncos last season including Brayden Camrud and Kaleb Dahlgren.
Dahlgren, who met Stephenson for the first time nearly a decade ago, admitted it was a special day to not only have the Stanley Cup come to town, but have a good friend bring it there.
“When Chandler won, the first thing he texted me was you’re coming to Humboldt with me and right there I was like ‘wow, okay, let’s do this Chandler.’ And so to be here now and have this celebration and help Humboldt heal is something special.”
Stephenson’s trip to Humboldt included a private meet and greet with a number of families of those involved in the accident, which he called “tough.”
“Seeing some of the parents and billet families and things like that, it’s tough to talk to them and know what they’re going through. Nothing can replace a life so you just try to help out as much as you can and that’s what today was all about.”
Stephenson was joined in Humboldt by a number of current and former players including Adam Graves, Wade Redden, Brayden Schenn, Travis Hamonic, Brett Kulak, Mark Jankowski, Andrew Ference, Chris Campoli, and Scott Hartnell among others.
Seeing so many players come to Humboldt was no surprise, said NHL Director of Social Engagement Andrew Ference, who said players reached out quite quickly looking to help, but said they didn’t know what they could do.
“That’s the way a lot of us felt. In talking to the Broncos and to the community one of the most powerful things is just to come together and be together… I think being together and being around each other and just being a community really is what’s happening today and what’s been so powerful.”
Seeing so many players just on board with Stephenson’s original cup idea, was nice he says, pointing to the Go Fund Me as an excellent example of the close knit hockey community.
“I think they wanted to raise $100,000 and it went to $15 million so that just shows how close everyone is. Everyone knows everyone in the hockey world so it’s something that everyone wants to do as much as they can and help out as much as they can.”
Of course, Stephenson admitted he was a little surprised to see the event blow up so large, saying his original plan was to just bring the cup to town.
“It’s snowballed for sure but I think it’s for the right reasons. It’s not to get in the limelight or anything like that, I just wanted to do what I could and help out as much as I could. There was a lot of talk about it going into the playoffs that if we were to win the cup that this was something I wanted to do.”
Broncos president Jamie Brockman called the day “surreal.”
“It’s just another step. It’s fantastic. We’ve got to thank the NHL, the NHLPA, the community just to help us heal and just another step in moving us forward.”
Of course, hosting the day just hours prior to the start of camp was nice as well, said Brockman, who said it was a way to kind of bridge the past with the future.
“There’s been a lot of sadness in this rink and today’s about celebrating and moving forward and getting the Humboldt Broncos team going.”
