Bednar Brings Stanley Cup to Annual Humboldt Memorial Golf Tournament

Photo courtesy of Becky Zimmer
Gratitude. Reconnection. Family. Love.
And even some… Stanley Cup magic.
The Fifth Annual Conexus Credit Union Humboldt Broncos Memorial Golf Tournament hosted in Humboldt, Saskatchewan during the weekend of Aug. 5th and 6th was filled with a whirlwind of emotion, as it served as a reunion for the families and the community that were directly impacted by the devastating bus crash of the Broncos junior hockey team, who were on their way to Nipawin for Game 5 of their playoff series in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) on April 6, 2018. The fatal crash resulted in the deaths of 16 people - including players, support staff and Broncos Head Coach Darcy Haugan - and critically injured the remaining 13 passengers.

And while the annual tournament - which is put on by Broncos billet coordinator Laurie Warford, Colorado Avalanche Head Coach Jared Bednar and Winnipeg-based broadcaster Brian Munz - aims to remember those 29 passengers and carry on their individual legacies, it's also an immensely healing and powerful weekend for everyone involved.
The themes that stood out this year were the overwhelming outpour of gratitude for the support that has continued year-after-year, the reconnections as everyone from the survivors, to community members, to strangers that are compelled to show support made their way to Humboldt for the special weekend all unite, to the bond that has developed due to the horrific circumstances, as well as the unconditional love that has never ceased since.

"It was just a weekend filled with a rollercoaster of emotions," Warford said. "There was so much good. Christina Haugan -who was the wife of Darcy - said it the best, that, 'If we don't find a way to inspire others and create something positive for the community, the families and the nation, then that would be a tragedy.'"
This year, the tournament featured a special guest as the Stanley Cup also made an appearance. Bednar brought the coveted trophy to the city where he spent much of his childhood and the formative years of his hockey career.
Having grown up in rural Saskatchewan, a young Bednar even had the opportunity to sport the Broncos' Green and Gold prior to playing three years in the Western Hockey League and nine seasons in the professional levels, before of course, he went on to pursue coaching and eventually led the Avalanche this past June to the third Stanley Cup Championship in franchise history.
"This was a welcomed addition to an already momentous event," Warford, who grew up with Bednar and attended high school at Humboldt Collegiate Institute with him, said. "It meant a lot to Jared to have the opportunity to bring the cup to Humboldt. Humboldt his where is hockey career started and he has so many close friendships in Humboldt and area. For this golf tournament that he hosts every year, it was just the icing on the cake of an already special event. He's extremely humble. It wasn't about him. It was about sharing that with the community and the families, that is all really bonded by hockey."
As a tradition of winning the Stanley Cup, a select number of individuals from the championship-winning team - including players, staff and front office personnel - are permitted to have their own allotted 24-hour window with the trophy.
Bednar already had his designated "Day with the Cup" back on July 19, in Charleston, South Carolina where he spent the bulk of his professional playing career and early coaching career. But given the circumstances of the annual golf tournament - which aims to create awareness and continued support on the premise of the Broncos' tragedy that so widely impacted the entirety of the hockey community - Bednar was permitted to bring it to Humboldt on the second night of the tournament and in conjunction of other proud prairie stops in Saskatchewan which featured visits with Josh Manson in Prince Albert, Ryan Murray in White City and Darcy Kuemper in Saskatoon.

The Cup arrived on Saturday, Aug. 6 and after the first day of the tournament, which featured the initial group of 164 golfers, the families of the 2018 tragedy, a Make A Wish recipient and an evening banquet, where Bednar was a member of the 2022 SJHL Hall Of Fame class.
During the golf-playing portion of the day, the course offers golfers with the chance to reflect and remember each of the 16 people who passed away in the crash. The course is designed so that every hole is personalized and dedicated to each one of those 16 individuals and includes specific items like favorite foods, games, songs etc. to honor each of them. The tournament itself abides by Coach Haugan's core covenants and looks to unite everyone in attendance.
"We had talked going into the event about whether or not it was the right thing to do to bring the Stanley Cup there," Munz said. "We didn't want it to overshadow the event. But the mindset of having it there and Jared was the first to say, 'As much as we're celebrating the Avalanche and that Stanley Cup Championship win, that's what that group of players themselves were doing that day, right?' They were going to win a championship themselves; they were in the playoffs and on their way to a game when the bus accident happened. The Cup was there for the right reason. It never overshadowed the event, but it was always there. People just wanted to be a part of it. It's the magic of the Stanley Cup that puts a lot of much-needed smiles on people's faces."
The tournament was initially organized and debuted in August of 2018, by the joint forces of Bednar, Warford and Munz, who each felt compelled to establish some form of support for the families and the community following the tragedy that hit so close to home for each of them.
For Warford, her family was billeting Saskatoon native Broncos player and 18-year-old Evan Thomas during that 2017-18 season and unfortunately, Thomas was one of the 16 beloved people who passed away.
Bednar grew up playing for the Broncos and understood what it meant to not just sport the Green and Gold, but what that team means to the city of Humboldt. He is also friends with the father of then, Broncos goaltender Jacob Wassermann, who was one of the 13 survivors and is now paralyzed from the waist down from the accident.
Prior to locating to Winnipeg - and eventually covering the Winnipeg Jets for TSN (The Sports Network) and now working as the Manager of Broadcast & Communications for the Winnipeg ICE - Munz's broadcasting career featured a five-season stint where he covered Saskatchewan Junior Hockey games on the radio for the Broncos, Nipawin Hawks, and Melfort Mustangs. He recalled the very route the Broncos' bus was traveling on April 6, 2018, towards Nipawin and estimated that he had driven and bused on that very highway hundreds of times.
But even for those who didn't know someone directly involved in the crash or who aren't from the area, the accident stunned not just the hockey community, but left a widespread and long-lasting impact. In doing so, it has prompted continued kindness and support from all over.

And now, in the time since the accident took place and since the tournament debuted, the trio of Bednar, Warford and Munz are still in awe at the unwavering support towards the event and the Humboldt community.
"That first year we thought we'd raise maybe $25,000 and instead, we cleared around $95,000," Warford recalled. "We don't have the final numbers yet from this year, but I'd estimate it over $80,000. We also donated $29,000 - $1,000 per person that was on the bus - to go towards the construction and the development of the ($35 million) roadside memorial and the tribute center, which will continue to give back to honor everyone in 2018.
"This event was a huge," Warford continued. "We are truly humbled and grateful for all our sponsors and guests, and we welcome the growing attendance each year."
While this year was certainly special with the most famous sports trophy in attendance - as it offered its instant allure and historic prestige - the Stanley Cup was not the focal point nor did it take away from the extraordinary efforts by Bednar, Warford and Munz to put on the tournament for a fifth consecutive year. Those inspiring efforts from the trio have not only continued to unite the Humboldt community, but they've continued to pay tribute to those 29 individuals and their respective families, friends, while continuing to champion their legacies.
"This year even still felt like the first time you did it," Munz said. "There's such tremendous support from the business community, from volunteers and people wanting to be involved. Every year we've had a waiting list of people wanting to get involved and take part in it.
"It's not just about hockey," Munz continued. "We want to make sure that those 29 individuals are honored for who they all are, the interests they had outside of the game. We want to try and continue the legacy of who those 29 people are. Not just those 29 hockey players, coaches, broadcasters, training staff and bus driver were, more on who they all were as individual people rather than the singular focus of grouping them together as a team on a bus on their way to a hockey game that night."
For more information on the annual tournament or how to donate please visit the section under the Humboldt Broncos website
here
or the public Facebook page which can be accessed
here
.
For more details on the Broncos Tribute Campaign, please click
here
.