Late Broncos & Navigators Head Coach Darcy Haugan honoured with statue in Peace River

In 2015, Haugan decided to leave his hometown and took a job to become the Head Coach and General Manager of the Humboldt Broncos in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL).

Unfortunately, on April 6, 2018, while on the Broncos’ bus heading to a playoff game in Nipawin, the bus collided with a semi-truck. The crash killed 16 members of the Broncos organization, including Haugan.

Following the tragedy, members on the board for the North Peace Navigators began figuring out how they could honour Darcy, as he played such a large role in the community.

On Saturday, October 10, 2020, the North Peace Navigators unveiled a statue in Haugan’s honour outside of the Baytex Energy Centre in front of socially distanced crowd of just over 100 people.

In attendance for the unveiling was Darcy’s widow, Christina, their sons, Carson and Jackson, his parents, Leroy and Shirley, as well as current and former members of the North Peace Navigators.

“We want to honour Darcy, but we also really want to honour what he stood for, because that’s what’s important for us as individuals,” explained Navigators President and co-founder, Albert Cooper, when asked about why they club wanted to build a statue to honour Darcy’s legacy.

“We are obviously, as a team and community, very proud of it. Darcy was obviously very significant in our lives and we are pleased to honour him and we are pleased for what he stood for and I think that’s the critical message in all of this.”

Cooper spoke about of the things Haugan stood for and would instill in his players.

“Character does determine success. If we spend more time focusing on character, it’ll help us build our skills, but more importantly, it will help us become better people.”

Before the statue was unveiled, several emotional speeches were made from current and former members of the Navigators, as well from Peace River Town Councillor Orren Ford, and the Reeve for Northern Sunrise County, Carolyn Kolebaba. All had connections with Darcy.

Councillor Orren Ford of Peace River Town Council gives speech during Darcy Haugan statue unveiling.

Reeve for the County of Northern Lights Carolyn Kolebaba gives speech at Darcy Haugan statue
unveiling.

Up last for the speeches, was Darcy’s widow, Christina and her family.

Christina Haugan gives speech before Darcy Haugan statue is unveiled.

After her speech, Christina and her family unveiled the statue for the Darcy Haugan statue for the first time.

Chrstiana and her family unveiled the statue for the first time.

The statue shows Darcy ready to coach, with a whistle in his mouth, about to run a practice session.

There are also five pucks in front of his hockey stick. The five pucks represent the five championships he helped the Navigators win during his time as Head Coach and General Manager.

Photo Credit: Shane Clausing

The statue was sculpted by Don Begg, who owns Studio West in Cochrane.

Since 1970, they have built 250 different statues around the world, with Darcy’s being the 251st statue that they’ve created. Begg and his team are also the ones who built the Wayne Gretzky statue in Edmonton.

Christina tells EverythingGP that it’s an honour to see Darcy represented like this.

“I’m incredibly humbled and I know he would be in absolute disbelief. He would not think that he was a person who would have ever deserved something like this.”

Christina says while she isn’t surprised by the statue, it once again shows how supportive the hockey community has been to her family and victims of the Broncos tragedy over the last two-and-a-half years.

“The hockey community has been phenomenal and seeing some of the things that have come from this have been amazing. I guess I’m not as shocked as I would’ve been before this happened, but we are very honoured.”

Christina and her family are currently living in Cochrane, Alberta. She says that she was involved in the statue making process and got to see how it was made.

Christina mentioned that both of her kids are very involved in hockey and are following close in Darcy’s footsteps. She says that they both have career aspirations to be involved in the hockey world in the future.

She says that she also is seeing a little bit of Darcy’s personality in her kids every day.

“I noticed that at this event, Darcy’s mom was getting cold and my oldest went to the truck and got her a blanket and wrapped it around her and I looked over and saw that and said ‘you know, that would’ve been Darcy’. I guess that’s one of the things I hold on to. Just being able to see Darcy come out in his kids every single day. That’s what keeps us going more than anything.”

For those interested in visiting the statue, the Baytex Energy Centre is located at 9810 73 Avenue in Peace River.

by Shane Clausing