Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock had tears in his eyes Saturday morning when he opened his pre-game news conference by speaking about Friday’s horrific bus crash involving the Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team in Saskatchewan.
A semi-truck collided with the Bronco’s team bus as it was on its way to play a game against the Nipawin Hawks of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.
Babcock, who grew up in Saskatoon, said he feels for the families, adding “it’s got to rip the heart out of your chest.”
The crash killed 15 people, including the Broncos’ head coach and captain.
Another 14 people were sent to hospital, including three in critical condition.
The coach told reporters that he had prepared to talk to them about the tragedy but became visibly emotional as he spoke.
“I can’t even imagine being the parent, or the wife, or the kids at home going through something like this. The hockey world is an unbelievable world, but you can’t make up for loss — you just can’t.”
WATCH: Toronto Maple Leaf players Morgan Rielly, Patrick Marleau and Tyler Bozak react to the tragic news of the fatal Humboldt Broncos bus crash.
“It just goes to show you, you’ve got to embrace each and every day, and each and every day you’re with your family, you better enjoy it.”
Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly echoed his coach’s sentiments, calling the accident a “devastating tragedy.”
“Playing hockey anywhere growing up you spend a lot of time on the bus, and really, you want that to be something you look forward to — going on the road with your team.”
Toronto forward Tyler Bozak, who is from Regina, told reporters he lost sleep Friday night upon hearing news of the crash.
He said bus trips were where you create all of your memories and build your bonds with teammates and friends.
“We’ve all spent time on the bus, you’re with your buddies having a good time, you feel safe in that situation and it’s really sad.”
For Saskatchewan native and current Leafs forward Patrick Marleau, the accident hit close to home.
Marleau was seven years old when another bus accident claimed the lives of four junior hockey players from his hometown, Swift Current, Sask.
On Dec. 30, 1986, Trent Kresse, 20, of Kindersley; Scott Kruger, 19, of Swift Current; Chris Mantyka, 19, of Saskatoon; and Brent Ruff, 16, of Warburg, Alta., died when the team bus for the Swift Current Broncos slid off the Trans Canada highway just minutes outside of Swift Current at the start of a road trip.
Watch below: Sheldon Kennedy, who was involved in the 1986 fatal bus crash involving the WHL’s Swift Current Broncos hockey club, reacts to hearing about the Humboldt Broncos bus crash on Friday.
Marleau said the Saskatchewan community is “very tight knit.”
“It’s one of those things that hockey is everything in Canada, but in Saskatchewan, every community is fairly small and everybody knows everybody and tries to look out for each other and take care of each other.”
Rielly, who played his junior hockey in the province, said spending so much time there helped him to “gain appreciation for the kind of people that come from there.”
“In times like these, you definitely need people around you, our thoughts and our hearts go out to the Humboldt Broncos and their families.”
A GoFundMe page set up for family members of the team had raised more than $1,000,000 by Saturday afternoon.
Mayor John Tory tweeted that the Toronto sign will be lit green and yellow on Saturday in honour of the team colours of the Broncos.
“The sign will dim at 6 p.m. tonight to commemorate the lives lost in this terrible tragedy.”
—With files from The Canadian Press, Phil Heidenreich, Marney Blunt and Blake Lough.
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