April 6, 2018, will be a day forever engraved on a city, province, and the world of hockey.

It was one year ago today that a semi-trailer truck travelling westbound on Highway 335 failed to stop at a stop sign and collided at an intersection with a bus travelling on Highway 35.

That bus featured 29 players, staff, an announcer, and a statistician of the Humboldt Broncos. Sixteen of those people lost their lives while the remaining 13 were severely injured. 

A year later families and those close to the victims are still feeling the pain and grief with losing a loved one.

It's a feeling that some people in the southwest know all too well as it was 33 years ago that a bus carrying the Swift Current Broncos crashed and saw four young men lose their lives.

Brian Costello, now senior editor at The Hockey News, was covering that team for the Swift Current Sun (currently the Southwest Booster) and was on the bus when it hit black ice and flipped to its side. He said that for those affected by the Humboldt bus crash, things will get easier, as time might not be able to heal all wounds, but can shorten the scar.

"The acceptance comes eventually," he said. "It's always a bit of a downer around the anniversary Every December 30 of every year I have a certain moment of silence, and it's a bit of a dark day for me. It never truly goes away, but I think the acceptance part time goes on and you do have to carry on with life."

Costello says that for the people involved in last year's crash, his heart goes out to them.

"I just know how hard it is and the pain, it's going to take a long time to go away," he said, "I just encourage people to just try and think positive. Talk things out with family and friends and even work colleagues, that's the best way to move on from this."

Costello noted that talking about how you feel and about the crash is what he believes is the best way to heal.

"I think it's very important that people open up and talk about it whether you were directly involved, whether it be family, friends, a community member, or even just an acquaintance. It's important that you talk about how you feel and you don't keep it bottled up," he said. "You really have to share your emotions and open up your heart, and I think that is the best way for healing. You can't heal if you're bottled up.

Costello said that as for the community, you could feel the dark cloud over the city for a while until he left two and a half years after the crash.

"I don't think the community will ever lose that sombre feeling," he said. "There was always the overriding cloud around town. It still lingers and for the people, you were directly involved in the first few years. It's something you think about every day of the week, but maybe as the decades go on, maybe you only think of it maybe only once or twice a week or a few times a month or something like that. It's something will never escape from your mind.

Costello said that the difference between the two crashes isn't only how many people died, but also how quickly the information was able to get out that something had happened.

"The media reaction at the time and the public reaction. There was an outpouring of support nationwide for the Swift Current accident, and the tentacles reached out in other areas too like Europe," he said. "But after Humboldt, they touched the entire world."

April 6, 2018, also marked a day that the Swift Current and Humboldt Broncos went from two places that shared the same team name to two places forever connected together. 

Ryan Gobeil works for the Swift Current Broncos and was directly affected by the crash as his brother, and then Broncos player Morgan Gobeil was on that bus. Morgan was recently released from the hospital after spending 333 days in it. Ryan said that compared to others affected by the accident, he doesn't think that the one-year anniversary will have a huge impact.

"I think in our scenario from my family's perspective anyway. The one-year anniversary isn't a super impactful thing given that Morgan has such a long way to go and we are trying to take it day by day and not think about what as and what could be or anything like that. It's a process."

Ryan said part of the healing process has been turning a horrific accident into a positive by hosting the Last Man Back fundraiser.

"It was certainly a terrible tragedy," he said. "There are obviously some positives that came from it, and that's what we try to cling to, especially our family. We were given a good opportunity to do some good things that came from such a bad thing. At the end of the day it kind of shows you that there are some positives to take front where you don't think there are."

Ryan said that being in a community that has kind of gone through the game thing, helped out.

"There was probably a greater level of understanding from people around the community with what our families have gone through," he said. "What our families went through is a very different scenario as well, and I think everybody has also acknowledged that. It certainly does help to have a lot of people who have experience heartache and in a similar way."

Dean Brockman, the director of hockey operations and head coach with the Swift Current Broncos, was a part of the Humboldt Broncos for 17 years. Brockman said that he, just like many others, will forever remember where they were when they heard the news.

"It's a tragedy," he said. "No one will ever forget where there were and what they were doing. It's that type of event that has changed the lives of so many people."

Brockman said that jumping from one Broncos organization to the other, he hopes that Humboldt is able to honour those who lost their lives in a similar fashion to how Swift Current has.

"It's fairly fresh in Humboldt," he said. "I think it's fantastic what they have done in Swift Current as far as honouring those four who lost their lives. I think it's a great display of affection. I'm sure Humboldt will as time proceeds."

He said that his heart goes out to everybody affected by the accident.

"I think your heart was broken," said the former assistant and head coach as well as GM for Humboldt. "You had to feel for so many people. Feel for the community and how tragedy struck, and you didn't really know. You were kind of numb a little bit at that point. I think it's after the fact you felt that there was going to be some long days ahead."

Brockman said that after the crash seeing how so many came together in adversity and in tragedy was amazing.

"I thought not only the province, the area, the country, the world really responded in a huge way," he said. "It's a very compassionate world and a small world in the same breath, and certainly it was just very compelling and interesting to read and see all the people that have reached out to try and help. Whether it was 100 miles away or a million miles away."

Swift Current Mayor Denis Perrault said that he will never forget the day and when he heard the news.

"I was at the iPlex. It was an employee recognition night, and it was that evening. We just all started to get some texts, and it was absolutely overwhelming. It was so sad, and it is something that will never be forgotten. It was something that we will definitely always remember where we were when we heard the news."

Perrault said that he feels like there is a real connection between Swift Current and Humboldt.

"The memories that our community of Swift Current has and will always are on the shoulders of every Bronco jersey with the four leaf clover. Those four numbers are the only numbers that will ever be hung in the iPlex. I know Humboldt is working very hard to come up with something because it will always be in their hearts and it will always be in their memories. It's something that redefines and shapes a community, and that community has gone through an incredible tragedy. There are so many things that they should be very proud of the many members of the community that stepped up."

He said that to see the support for Humboldt from not only the southwest but all over the world was just amazing.

"Absolutely just humbling and absolutely incredible to see so many people from around the world wanting to be supportive of such a tragedy. It's amazing what 12 months can do, and during the last 12, we've seen community outreach and community support just pouring in. We've seen so many people stepping up to the table."

Perrault added that another thing that he found amazing was how members of the community in Humboldt were able to step up as their community was hurting.

"Mayor Rob [Muench] and his council, staff, and the coaches all the work they did in such short order is still very remarkable," he said. "There's no playbook for municipal leaders when something like that happens and what that group did is an amazing thing. We've seen so many leaders across the province that have stepped up to try and help with this and to try and make sense of this tragedy."

The City of Humboldt is holding a Humboldt Broncos 1st Year Memorial Service held at 4:30 p.m. 107.5 Bolt FM will be broadcasting it on air and live streaming online for those who want to listen in.