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 teamās 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 teamās head coach, the statistician, the play-by-play announcer and the teamās bus driver.
Deegās office in the Broncosā dressing room had remained untouched since the crash.
āWalking up to the door here was tough,ā Deeg told CTV Regina. āWalking in here was almost surreal because everything kind of stayed as (it) was.ā
To honour Bronsās time with the team, Deeg has left her name on the door and added the words āIn Memory.ā
āI havenāt met anybody thatās had one bad thing to say about her,ā he added. āIāve tried to do my part of trying to do things to make sure that her memory lives on.ā
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.
āItās going to be a very emotional night here for everybody involved,ā Deeg said before the contest. āItās going to be one of those nights that you remember probably more than youāll remember being in an RBC Cup final.ā
With a report from CTV Reginaās Ashley Field
