He’s the head coach for the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche now, but Jared Bednar idolized the Humboldt Broncos as a kid. Now, in the wake of the April 6 bus crash tragedy, he has teamed up with Brian Munz, who calls Winnipeg Jets games on TSN, and high school friend Laurie Warford to organize a Humboldt Broncos Memorial Golf Tournament on August 18.

Bednar and Munz dropped by the Bolt FM studio Wednesday to talk about the idea. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Jonathan Charlton: What went through your mind when you heard about the bus crash?

Jared Bednar: Shock. As a coach, hockey player, parent, it’s everyone’s worst nightmare. The news trickled from afar - I was down in Denver at the time. Shock and disbelief when something tragic like that happens. It just hit really close to home for myself, for my family, for a lot of people that are still in the game, and for the Humboldt community. So we wanted to try and get something going that might be able to help the team, the families, both now and in the future.

What did the Broncos mean to you growing up?

It was the team that I idolized growing up. To me they were the upper echelon of hockey - there wasn’t an NHL team really close. We were privileged enough to watch the Oilers from afar, that was my team. But growing up I always dreamed of playing for the Humboldt Broncos, my idols in the game. As I got a little bit older I was able and fortunate enough to play for the Broncos for a couple years and it was a dream come true.

Many teams have a lot of long bus rides. There are many stories about close calls. When you played minor hockey, was that something you or other people worried about?

I think the organizations do such good jobs trying to keep the players safe and there’s obviously trips that you have to go through bad weather at times. It’s something that’s in the back of your mind, I think. Prior to the time I was playing the WHL, the tragedy in Swift Current happened, so you hear of different incidents, few and far between, close calls here and there. I think you take it for granted, the hours you put on the bus and how much work goes into keeping you safe and that’s the top priority. So when you hear about something like this in Humboldt, you know it could happen to anyone at any given time and it just hits close to home for everybody.

What do you make of all the support and memorials that have been coming in from across Canada?

I think it’s fantastic. I think it shows you how the game of hockey brings people together and it’s hard to talk with anyone here locally or in the province of Saskatchewan and even in the pro game of hockey, running into players that have connections to Humboldt, or families that were involved or knew one of the kids. The outpouring of support from the nation, from the world, has been fantastic and I’m sure it’s overwhelming at times, but it’s great to see the hockey world and the community come together like this.

Where did the idea for the Broncos Memorial Golf Tournament come from?

We came out to a country concert to raise a bunch of money for the families and you see everyone trying to pitch in and do their part in helping out the team and the families after the incident. Brian Munz and myself, with some help here in Humboldt from Laurie Walford, we wanted to put a golf tournament together. It’s something they haven’t had here for a number of years, a Humboldt Bronco golf tournament, and we wanted to make ours a Humboldt Bronco Memorial Golf Tournament … We want everyone to be able to come out and have a good time and make some new friends and visit with old friends and get together. We’re going to have some auction items and whatnot, and put this together and try to keep it going as an annual event.

What do you hope the tournament achieves?

JB: Number one, it’s to remember those that we lost in this accident and get a chance to get together as a community, and friends and families and have a really good time. Number two, the hockey team is hurting and we wanted to be able to raise some funds for them, year after year, to help them make any sort of improvements or use as they wish to help run the team, and that’s really important because the hockey team is what brought all these people together.

Brian Munz: Jared and I have talked about this over the last little bit and great opportunity to come home and do something for my hometown team. I was on that bus and sat in the same seat that Tyler did broadcasting games for five years when I was calling Broncos and Mustang and Hawks games up the highway. So as soon as I heard about it I continued to talk to Bill Chow, president of the SJHL, and the group here, Kevin Garinger, met Darcy’s family at our game in Vegas last weekend, and Tyler’s family was at our game last weekend when we wrapped up the third round of the playoffs. So a chance to be able to come home and be involved in something like this is obviously special to be a part of. To try and give back for getting a chance to get to the NHL that I wouldn’t have if I didn't have my time in Humboldt, and growing up here. It’s a small piece of hopefully something I can give back in a big way, of saying thanks to everybody in the community.

Registration for the tournament opens June 1 at 9 a.m. The number to call is 306-682-1818.