From the Rink: Humboldt tragedy hits close to home for Woods

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- The tragic bus accident in Saskatchewan on Friday involving the Humboldt Broncos that killed 14 and critically injured three others has hit close to home for many in the hockey world.
For Wild assistant coach Bob Woods, it hits really close.
Born 20 miles outside of Humboldt, Saskatchewan, Woods' family farm was a short drive to Humboldt and the Broncos were his favorite junior team growing up.

His oldest son, Brendan, was born in Humboldt.
His youngest son, Colin, was a member of the Broncos two seasons ago and played with three players involved in the crash, and played for head coach Darcy Haugan, who passed away.
Haugan was a frequent visitor at Woods' practices for two years when Woods was head coach of the Saskatoon Blades in the WHL in 2014-15 and 2015-16.
His mom and one of his sisters live in Humboldt. Another sister lives nearby.
"I know the community pretty well and it's going to be a big blow. Just a terrible thing," Woods said. "It really touches close to home. You feel bad for everybody involved."
Woods said he was immediately reminded of a bus accident involving the Western Hockey League's Swift Current Broncos in 1986, an accident that killed four and injured 24 others.
At the time of that accident, Woods was playing for the Nipawin Hawks of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League, the same league Humboldt is in.

"You never get over that, I knew a bunch of guys from that as well," Woods said. "It's why my wife makes my boys text every time they're leaving and every time they ride safe, because you worry about it.
"It's a player's, coach's, GM's, parent's worst nightmare coming true."
The accident has struck a chord in the hockey community, mostly because so many players, coaches and executives have spent endless hours at one point or another in their career riding a bus from town to town.
"We've all worried about it and when it happens, it really hits home," Woods said. "Everyone can relate to it."
Wild defenseman Nate Prosser spent three years playing in the United States Hockey League, spending countless hours on buses traveling across the midwest.
The buses for these teams are akin to traveling dorm rooms, where teammates get to know each other, tease each other and talk about their backgrounds and their futures.
It's where so many players live for six months out of the year.

"Going back, you remember those bus rides in the middle of Nebraska or even when we were in the AHL," Prosser said. "I remember being on a sleeper bus and looking out the front into a blizzard and you're scared.
"It's terrible. Our hearts go out to all of them. It's one of those tragedies that you never want to see."
The Wild will conclude its regular season schedule on Saturday night at SAP Center against the San Jose Sharks.
Here are the projected lineups:
WILD
Jason Zucker - Eric Staal - Nino Niederreiter
Zach Parise - Mikko Koivu - Mikael Granlund
Jordan Greenway - Matt Cullen - Charlie Coyle
Marcus Foligno - Joel Eriksson Ek - Daniel Winnik
Jonas Brodin - Matt Dumba
Nick Seeler - Ryan Murphy
Louie Belpedio - Nate Prosser
Devan Dubnyk
Alex Stalock
SHARKS
Timo Meier - Joe Pavelski - Joonas Donskoi
Tomas Hertl - Logan Couture - Mikkel Boedker
Dylan Gambrell - Chris Tierney - Kevin Labanc
Jannik Hansen - Joel Ward - Marcus Sorensen
Paul Martin - Brent Burns
Marc-Edouard Vlasic - Justin Braun
Brenden Dillon - Dylan DeMelo
Martin Jones
Aaron Dell
Related:
- Watch: Boudreau pregame in San Jose - Watch: Locker room pregame against Sharks - Photo blog: Final regular season game