When Rance Cardinal heard about the Broncos bus crash, it felt like a “shockwave of pain.”

His own junior hockey years were the best of his time in the sport, he said.

“I was living the life just like these boys were and it really struck me as a hockey player, former junior player and also as a father. I have a son that’s just walking right now, and I want to put him into hockey and I can’t imagine what the families, the billets, the whole town is going through when that happens.”

Cardinal has had to work through personal tragedies of his own. When he was 19, his younger brother died. A year later, a friend who played junior hockey died in a car crash.

Cardinal turned to drugs and alcohol, and was eventually kicked off his hockey team.

Now, he wants to inspire the bus crash survivors to not go down the same path he did by walking the 1,200 kilometres from Sioux Lookout, Ontario, to Humboldt.

“What I want to get out of this for myself is just my inner peace. Get Rance Cardinal back, and strength, and honour. And really I just want to show this town my support.”

When he spoke to Bolt FM he was 22 kilometres from the Manitoba border - about 250 kilometres into his journey. Aside from rolling an ankle, he’s been having a good time on the road, he said.

“People honking at me, it’s just like I scored a goal, and I’m yelling out too. I’m losing my voice too, yelling ‘Humboldt Strong.’ I’ll even say, ‘for the boys.’”