Put yourself in Humboldt Broncos broadcaster Rory McGouran’s shoes at the start of the 2018/19 junior hockey season.
You’re in your first year with a brand new team that suffered an unspeakable tragedy only months prior, resulting in the death of 16 people (including your predecessor) and severely injuring 13 more.
Now your task is to not only call every game, but also tell the story of a rebuilding, heartbroken team that has the support of an entire country. You have to balance your own emotions, as well as getting used to the new surroundings and a new staff to provide a broadcast night in night out.
McGouran became the new Broncos broadcaster despite calls for Junior hockey announcers across the country to travel in shifts to cover Broncos games for the season. In hindsight, the decision to hire a full-time guy was the best one possible as it gave the team one voice to rally behind the team with.
Global Television did a story at the end of McGouran’s first season as the Broncos broadcaster, highlighting the challenges he faced.
When the Humboldt Broncos got back on the ice last fall it marked the start of a new chapter for the team. One of the people tasked with telling that story was Rory McGouran, a newcomer to the community who had a front-row seat for the team’s rebirth.
The collision between the 2017-18 Broncos’ bus and a semi-trailer on April 6, 2018, claimed the lives of 16 players and staff on their way to a playoff game. Thirteen others were injured.
Tyler Bieber, a 29-year-old Humboldt native, was in his first year as a play-by-play announcer with the junior A hockey club when he died. When the 2018-19 Broncos returned to the ice this season rebuilt, they did so with a new man behind the microphone.
Read more and watch: https://globalnews.ca/news/5137790/rory-mcgouran-humboldt-broncos-bus-crash/
