Vigil in support of paralyzed Humboldt Broncos player Ryan Straschnitzki planned for Friday
People in Airdrie and the outlying communities are being invited to rally around a young, determined Humboldt Broncos hockey player as he recovers from a devastating injury.
Ryan Straschnitzki was one of 14 people injured in a deadly crash between the bus carrying his team and a semi-truck on Friday night on a Saskatchewan highway. Fifteen others were killed.
Straschnitzki suffered a broken back in the crash and was paralyzed from the chest down. The 18-year-old’s parents said Monday that their son is “determined to get well.”
READ MORE: Paralyzed from Saskatchewan bus crash, Ryan Straschnitzki plots return to ice
“When they told us, Ryan just looked at us and goes, ‘Dad, Olympic sledge hockey. I’ll get us the gold,’” his father Tom Straschnitzki said.
A vigil will take place in Straschnitzki’s hometown of Airdrie on Friday night, planned in part by the young man who’s set up a fundraiser selling #StrazStrong hats to help the Straschnitzki family with the road ahead.
“He knows that life is probably going to change for him but he’s ready for it,” Thompson told Global News on Sunday.
Thompson, who runs White Collar Boxing Company, coached Straschnitzki at the Airdrie-based gym.
“Canada’s hockey community was utterly shaken by the tragedy that was the Humboldt Broncos and the bus crash that took 15 lives and left 14 injured,” organizers Cody Thompson and Mackenzie Murphy wrote in the Facebook event.
“On Friday, April 13, a week to the day of the crash, we invite the Airdrie and outlying communities to join together to support Airdrie’s own Ryan Straschnitzki in his recovery since the accident, as well as take time to remember all those on the team, their families, and their communities who were impacted.”
The vigil is set for 8:30 Friday night at the outdoor rink at Chinook Winds Park in Airdrie.
WATCH: The parents of 18-year-old Ryan Straschnitzki, a survivor of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash, say despite their son’s paralysis, he is already eager to take up sledge hockey. But first, his focus is on helping his teammates. Blake Lough reports.
“We hope this vigil can unite our community and give each person who has shared this grief and devastation a place to show their respects and support,” the event reads.
The #StratzStrong ballcaps will also be available for ordering at Friday’s vigil.