The family of late Humboldt Broncos player Evan Thomas will be hosting a charity hockey game to help fund four post-secondary scholarships.
In the days leading up to the grim anniversary of the bus crash, Scott Thomas, Evan鈥檚 father, said Canadians from across the county have been sending him and his family warm messages and photos of his son.
鈥淓very day, we receive messages of love from all over Canada,鈥 he told CTV News Channel on Saturday. 鈥淚t always warms our heart when we hear from Canadians.鈥
鈥淐ertainly lots of warm thoughts, warm memories of him as a baseball player and a hockey player 鈥 he was everybody鈥檚 buddy,鈥 he said. 鈥淛ust a good kid with a huge sense of humour and an infectious laugh.鈥
Evan was one of the 16 people killed after a transport truck collided into the Humboldt Broncos鈥 team bus, last year.
On April 13, friends and family will be hosting a hockey game and social to remember and honour Evan鈥檚 life. The idea was sparked after the family held a similar memorial last year.
鈥淲e鈥檙e just trying to have a positive experience and remember all the good times we had with Evan,鈥 Thomas said.
The family will be collecting donations at the door that will go towards a memorial trust. They want to use that money to fund four scholarships in Evan鈥檚 name. But some of the money will also go towards the Kinsmen Inner City Hockey League.
The four scholarships will come from the Saskatoon Community Foundation, Saskatoon Minor Hockey Association, Vanier Collegiate Institute 鈥 where Evan went to school -- and one from the Triple-A Midget teams he played on.
鈥淓very one of those is for graduating high school students who are going to university [and] displays leadership, good marks,鈥 he said. 鈥淲e just want to give kids the opportunity to have a good start.鈥
Memorial hockey game started as a 'little thing': father
鈥淸The hockey game] started out with a little thing with just friends and family,鈥 Thomas explained. 鈥淭hen, all of a sudden all of my daughters friends wanted to get involved [and then] all of Evan鈥檚 buddies wanted to play.鈥
鈥淵ou know the sport is one thing but 鈥 Evan just loved being a teammate,鈥 he said. 鈥淏eing a teammate teaches you so much about how to operate in the real world 鈥 that ability to be a teammate is priceless.鈥
People from across the country have been putting out hockey sticks on their front doors to show their support for the affected families. Thomas says that hasn鈥檛 gone unnoticed.
鈥淲e had so much taken away from us -- all the families did when they lost their loved ones -- but we鈥檝e gotten so much,鈥 he said. 鈥淪o much from the hockey community, so much from the community of Saskatchewan and the community of Canada.鈥
Thomas recalled a phone call he received from a man in North Bay, Ont., who tearfully recounted how his son had worn Evan鈥檚 jersey number in a local tournament and 鈥渉ad the best game of his life.鈥
鈥淚t鈥檚 sentiments like that which continue to happen --a year later-- that you can just see how much every Canadian family felt this loss like it was their own,鈥 he said. 鈥淵ou know, it just warms our heart.鈥
