Despite bus crash, Nunavik hockey team strong on the ice

The Nunavik Nordiks Atom team lost the semi final game at a Quebec provincial tournament Jan. 31, but players were awarded a trophy for the Most Persevering Team. The Nordiks were involved in a road accident Jan. 26, when the school bus they were travelling in collided with two other vehicles. None of the players were seriously injured. (PHOTO COURTESY OF J. JUNEAU)

The Nunavik Nordiks Atom wrapped up a Quebec hockey tournament Jan. 31 as proud quarter-finalists, with a handful of strong wins under their belt.

But the Nordiks finished the St-Raymond, Que. tournament with another honour; the group picked up the Most Persevering Team award Jan. 31, for their dedication to the game following a serious road accident.

“You have to be extremely proud of that,” said the Nordik’s manager Joé Juneau, who oversees the Nunavik Youth Hockey Development Program.

On Jan. 26, a bus carrying the team’s 16 players, aged nine and 10, plus coaches and parent volunteers, collided with two other vehicles on a roadway west of Quebec City.

The impact sent the team’s school bus into a ditch. None of the Nordiks were seriously injured, although the driver of one of the other vehicles died later of her injuries.

“Everyone was very shaken up by the whole thing,” Juneau said.

“Getting out of the bus from the ditch, then you see the telephone pole we just missed by a metre. Considering all that, our bus driver did an amazing job.”

Following the accident, the group had to wait at the side of the road for about an hour, some of the players with tears in their eyes, Juneau said.

During that time, some of the Nordiks coaches helped other motorists on the scene remove the driver of one of the other vehicles from her car, the same woman who later died.

“It’s a tragedy,” Juneau said. “But it could have been a lot worse.”

Eventually, the Nordiks team, coaches and parent volunteers were split into two groups and taken to two different hospitals in the region.

Juneau said it was frustrating trying to stay in contact with the other half of the group, especially while members of the media kept calling his cell phone.

By late afternoon, the Nordiks groups at both hospitals were cleared and released.

“We had a team meeting and everyone thought it was better to go on with our routine,” said Juneau — at which point the group headed to St-Raymond where the Nordiks played an evening game, he said.

The following day, Juneau brought in some psychologists to meet with the players and talk to them about the accident.

“It’s really remarkable how well the remainder of the trip went,” he said. “We see the amazing strength of these kids, to overcome that and play so well. It was a great effort.”

As the Nordiks Atoms headed back to their Nunavik communities Jan. 31, the Nunavik hockey organization has been in touch with health centres in each of their home communities to make sure they have support, if needed.

As the Atoms return north, more senior Nunavik team players are heading south to play in the Bantam version of the St-Raymond tournament, which runs through the week and into next weekend.

You can follow the tournament here.