Before the NHL playoffs started, Washington forward Chandler Stephenson made a promise to himself that he’d bring the Stanley Cup to the town of Humboldt if the Capitals could win it.
On Friday, the Saskatchewan native will fulfill that promise in the hope of bringing a little joy to a community that has been reeling since a bus carrying the Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team was struck by a truck and 16 people were killed and another 13 injured.
“The community deserves to have a good day,” Stephenson said. “We’re not trying to be saviors by any means because nothing can replace a life. We’re just trying to make it as positive a day as we can and hopefully put some smiles and some laughs on some people’s faces.”
More than a dozen current and former NHL players including Andrew Ference, Adam Graves, Travis Hamonic, and Brayden Schenn will join Stephenson when he visits the town of 6,000 for an event that is being called Humboldt Hockey Day.
During the event, members of the Broncos organization will visit with Stephenson and the Cup for a private function before the famous trophy is taken to a public event in the afternoon.
An online fundraising effort for the victims of the crash has already raised more than $15 million for the victims of the crash and the added attention the Cup brings could help raise that total.
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