From ex-midget teammates to longtime rivals and off-ice friends, from fellow coaches to brief teammates on all-star teams, the Estevan Bruins had plenty of connections to the Humboldt Broncos. The tragedy that befell the Broncos rocked the Bruins dressing room as it did the entire SJHL.

"There's a lot of teammates and friends who were lost," said Bruins head coach and GM Chris Lewgood. "At the end of the day the guys are there for each other. We're really lucky as a team to still be together at this point. For us to have each other here is a blessing."

Of the ten players who passed away in the crash, many had some connection to the Bruins. In particular, Evan Thomas, formerly of the Moose Jaw Generals, played with no fewer than four current Bruins during his time there.

Adam Herold, meanwhile, was a member of the Regina Pat Canadians this season and last, and had played with a pair of Bruins as well. He served as captain of the Pat Cs this year.

Kaleb Dahlgren, who survived the crash, also has a Bruins connection as a former teammate and linemate of Bruins sniper Kaelan Holt. 

"I was kind of in shock at first," Holt said. "It's tough to hear about any tragedy like that and it really hits home when it's in your own league. Having a close friend involved made it tough. You try to get as many updates as you can."

At first, Holt had heard a horrible diagnosis for Dahlgren, but the Broncos forward was not in as poor of condition as initially thought, much to Holt's relief. 

"They had thought it was a lot worse than it is now," Holt said. "They thought he'd had a couple of broken femurs and a fractured skull. I don't want to say too much because I'm not a hundred percent sure but he's looking a lot better than he was."

For a Bruins team that was coming off a bus ride of their own less than an hour before the crash, it struck a particularly harsh note.

"We rolled in around five and I was actually grabbing some food with my billet when I checked my phone," said Holt. "At first I thought maybe it was just in the ditch, but as more information came out we really learned how terrible it was."

The Bruins coaching staff lost two members in their fraternity in the crash, both with Estevan connections. Broncos head coach Darcy Haugan was an assistant in Estevan for three years, while assistant coach Mark Cross was a former Bruin player. Lewgood knew Cross particularly well as he coached him in Junior-B, and remembers him fondly.

"I've spent a lot of time raving about him as a person," Lewgood said. "I remember one night sitting down with Dylan Lafrentz (team trainer) and telling him how lucky the Humboldt Broncos are to have that addition to their culture this year and how Mark Cross could make the same sort of impact that some of the high end people we have here in our organization have made for us."

"It's a huge loss for the hockey community, and for his family," Lewgood added. "He had a bright future in whatever he was going to do, whether in hockey or business. He was looking at starting a young family." 

For Lewgood, attending the vigil for the Broncos in Humboldt helped bring the crash into perspective. 

"To see the families grieving together was pretty humbling," he said. "I also think the event itself was a very good resource for people to share each other's grief. I think a lot of people found new friends and new people to confide in and take the burden off one another a little bit at a time."

The Bruins players who lost friends and ex-teammates in the crash are not speaking about it at this time.