As the Humboldt Broncos hit the ice for their first regular season game since a devastating crash that killed more than a dozen members of the team, Tyrol Deeg was behind the scenes, doing his best to honour his predecessor.
Deeg is among the dozens of new faces within the Broncos organization. He has taken over as the team’s head trainer from 24-year-old Dayna Brons, who was among the 16 people killed in the horrific crash on April 6.
Along with Brons, the crash claimed the lives of 11 players, the team’s head coach, the statistician, the play-by-play announcer and the team’s bus driver.
Deeg’s office in the Broncos’ dressing room had remained untouched since the crash.
“Walking up to the door here was tough,” Deeg told CTV Regina. “Walking in here was almost surreal because everything kind of stayed as (it) was.”
To honour Brons’s time with the team, Deeg has left her name on the door and added the words “In Memory.”
“I haven’t met anybody that’s had one bad thing to say about her,” he added. “I’ve tried to do my part of trying to do things to make sure that her memory lives on.”
Only two players have returned to the Broncos line-up from last year and much of the coaching staff are also new additions to the squad. The team plays their season opener on Wednesday evening.
“It’s going to be a very emotional night here for everybody involved,” Deeg said before the contest. “It’s going to be one of those nights that you remember probably more than you’ll remember being in an RBC Cup final.”
With a report from CTV Regina’s Ashley Field
