NEUGSIE’S AROUND THE RINK

By: Jamie Neugebauer
Voice of the ND Hounds

• How to do justice?: I sat in front of my computer for a while Tuesday trying to figure out the best way to do justice to how we feel collectively about the third anniversary of that horrible bus crash, and try as I could, I found it impossible to craft to a satisfactory degree. I cry so rarely, but Tuesday the tears flowed free as I thought of those young men and Dayna Brons, those passed on, and those who live with the memories. It hits home on so many levels: the pure tragedy and loss, the fact they were brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, friends, family; but also because we all know players and people their age, and can’t dream of how we would feel if it were their bus. That Humboldt team was every team, every group, and the wound is still so tender. I’m sorry my words can’t do justice, all I ask that you don’t waste the day: tell someone you love them, tell someone you’re sorry for how you’ve hurt them, tell someone you forgive them. For you, but for those 16 who can never say or hear those words again.
• Dally: One brave man who dares to keep speaking, and dares to continue to be a spokesperson for all the victims and survivors of the crash is Kaleb Dahlgren, and I have to say there are few people on earth I respect more than him. I have spoken about his great book on the event and his life entitled ‘Crossroads: My story of tragedy and resilience as a Humboldt Bronco’ many times and I will continue to strongly urge you to get your hands a copy for many reasons, but one is that Dally has put his hand up to speak on something so hard, and so personal so that the others don’t have to. He’s bared his soul, so his teammates and their families don’t have to: how remarkable is that? I was so happy to have him on our final SJ at Noon Show last Monday, and as usual, he was awesome on it. The type of kid he is, HE reached out to ME to thank ME for having him on the show, when the gratitude and pleasure is entirely all ours. I could talk about him for a long, long time.
• That hockey team: One way I feel specifically suited to preserve the memory of that team is to remember them as one of the important ways they would want: as an actual hockey team, that played games and was an excellent group. They were so gritty, they were never out of games, and their captain Logan Schatz was and is my favourite player I’ve ever seen in the SJHL (admittedly I haven’t been around THAT long). While it was not super likely they would have rallied from down 3-1 in that fateful series vs. a loaded Nipawin Hawks team destined for a championship, it would have been insane to bet against them either. On the show, Dally and I spoke about my first ever game I broadcasted at the Duncan McNeill Arena in Wilcox. On Sept. 17, 2017, Curt Wiebe gave ND a 3-1 lead early in the third, jamming home a power-play goal, and with the elite Jacob Standen in net, one could have thought the Hounds had their first win of the year in the bag. Not so fast…big defenceman Stephen Wack’s long wrister gets in minutes later, Dahlgren jams home backdoor with the Humboldt net empty on a feed from Schatz with just over a second left on the clock, and then Dally, who had played over 120 games with Notre Dame before joining the Broncos that off-season, scores the shootout winner, with the crowd going nuts on him all night. The Hounds and Broncos had so many great tilts that season!
• Who’s playing where: A few survivors are still playing the game. After dominating in his return after the crash, Brayden Camrud moved on to play Division I NCAA with the University of Alaska-Anchorage where he had a solid rookie campaign a year ago. The Seawolves program had folded this off-season, though there is a big fight to keep it alive, so here’s hoping! Graysen Cameron played in the Wisconsin Conference Division III’s shortened season with Northland College, Bryce Fiske was in USports at UOIT just east of Toronto but has been playing Senior hockey, while Matthieu Gomercic is still there, and Tyler Smith played in Alberta Junior B last year. A wider group of guys who were call-ups or traded away earlier in that 17-18 year have also continued their careers, most notably Antonio Di Paolo, who was dealt to his hometown La Ronge Ice Wolves for Fiske that year and is now at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks DI; and Zach McIntyre, who is expected to continue to be a key member of the Melville Millionaires moving forward into next year.
• Crushed again: Potentially lost in all the Covid cancellation is the team that the Broncos had put together for this year. The year after the crash was not the rebuild, as Nathan Oystrick (then the GM and head coach) had worked with current boss Scott Barney (then his assistant) to put together an outstanding, veteran club, genuinely looking to contend on the fly. Barney’s work since taking over from Oystrick mid-way through that campaign, with the really very good B.C.-based input of his lieutenant Curtis Toneff, and a wide network of scouts, was predicated on having the 2020-2021 Humboldt Broncos contend for a Centennial Cup (not just Canalta). I talked pre-season that even with the WHL loaners, the Broncos were the No. 1 team in the league, with a ton of returnees (including Doug Scott, the league’s best defenceman), awesome additions like Jarrett Penner and Tanner Marshall, and all sorts of talent and balance, and it’s such a shame we never got to see how good they could be. I know in public Barney says “oh well, have to move on”, but I have to believe there’s pain in knowing this club could have done something extremely special for the community that is still hurting.
• Barndog: That all said, I’ve written it before, and I’ll write it again: I think Scott Barney is not long for the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. He’s great at what he does, kids love to play for him, and I just think someone at a higher level will take an appealing run to hire him sooner or later. I don’t really know what HE would find appealing enough, given that I know for a fact he’s loving his time in Humboldt, but I have no doubts he could be a head coach/GM at the Major Junior/University level, and beyond. He also has all those connections from a long pro career, in North America and abroad. I also can promise he didn’t pay me to say any of this, though he can have my mailing address if he does want to send a cheque (wink).
• Bye-bye Bedard: To the Dub Hub in Regina and the Pats wonderboy Connor Bedard has quite rightly been named to Canada’s roster for the upcoming 2021 IIHF Under-18 World Championship in Texas later this month. That means his final game for the Pats in the Hub will be this Friday vs. Brandon, as the plan is for the whole national team to meet up in Texas by April 17. Seen lots of upset Regina fans about this, feeling like their club is going to struggle (even more so than they already have) with him gone. Now I don’t usually like to chastise people for their feelings, you’re allowed to want the Pats to win random April games with potentially no playoffs, but Bedard’s potential for development is exponentially higher with the U18 national team than to continue to dominate in the Hub. So, you should be thrilled for the kid! I know I’ll be tuning in to see Bedard link up with guys like Shane Wright, Dylan Guenther, Logan Stankoven, and Cole Sillinger! Wow, this team will be fun to watch.
• Reeling Blades: Ok Saskatoon Blades fans, calm down! They were admittedly poor in their 13-game unbeaten streak-snapping 4-0 loss to the Moose Jaw Warriors last Friday, and I hear Coach Mitch Love absolutely ripped some paint way off some walls as a result. Sunday’s loss to the Brandon Wheat Kings is no shame either given that the Wheaties have been on fire lately, especially with the return of Braden Schneider, the one guy I know for sure in the WHL that could easily be in the NHL right now, so the Blades will be fine. Chase Wouters is by far the best 2000-born forward in the Hub, and they miss him all over the ice, but I’ll say it again: I still believe the Blades are the best team in Regina right now.
• Epic Thursday: So we shift our gaze southwards as the Frozen Four goes Thursday night, on TSN if you’re in Canada, and it’s going to be epic. The pundits probably had a completely different couple of matchups when the final NCAA men’s hockey tournament started, expecting star-studded schools like North Dakota (or Michigan, until they ran into Covid issues), Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Boston College to all (or mostly all) be there. Well, none of them are there. Instead, it’s battled-hardened veteran teams: first Minnesota St and St. Cloud St. will do battle in an all Minnesota clash of two teams that are like pulling teeth to play against. The nightcap will see the defending champs (still from 2019 as 2020 was canceled) Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs in a REMATCH OF THAT FINAL IN 2019 against the Massachusetts Minutemen! So awesome! My buddy Ben Barr is an associate coach at, and good friend Mario Ferraro of the San Jose Sharks is a proud alum of UMass, and my buddies Luke Mylymok and Matty Cairns play for UMD, so who do I cheer for?! It’ll be fun either way.
• How about them bluebirds?: Finally, I know it’s so early but I have to be fired up that the Blue Jays are winning games without George Springer and a legitimate starting rotation. As a Toronto guy I probably popped out of my mother’s womb and went straight to the dome, and cheering for the birds has been in my blood my whole life. Get on the bandwagon now folks, with this line-up, and this bullpen, the boys could really do some damage! How about the great start of Jordan Romano, out of Markham, Ont., one town over from where I grew up in Thornhill! He’s gotta be living the dream! I took a quick look at his Wikipedia page today, and it noted he pitched a no-hitter against the Hartford Yard Goats once upon a time, and I thought…someone named their team the ‘Yard Goats’?!? Good grief.

(Follow Jamie on Twitter at @Neugsie)