'I'm going to play for them': Surviving Humboldt Broncos centre says he won't give up the game

Although they were down 3-1 in the series, senior Humboldt Broncos centre Brayden Camrud said the team was rallying for a win against Nipawin the day the team bus crashed.

Instead of spending his days at practice, Camrud is now attending all the funerals for his teammates and the others who perished from the collision with a semi that killed 16 people.

"I'm going to wear this name and I'm going to try and honour him the best I can for the rest of my life," said Camrud. "I'm going to miss him dearly. He was an incredible person."

I'm going to live my life for them and to the best of my ability ... try to make them proud.- Brayden Camrud

As a team, Camrud said they not only played and practised together, but also spent a lot of time off the ice talking and bonding.

"We had a very tight group," he said.

"We were all together. We were brothers."

Camrud said he has been to all the funerals so far, and that they aren't getting any easier to attend. He said he's doing it for those that passed, their families and his teammates who can't be there.

"I'm dealing with it OK but it's hard picturing a family spending the rest of their days without their son," said Camrud.

"I'm still here and I know my parents are just so happy to see me and it's so hard seeing the other families in the condition that they're in."

'It still doesn’t seem real," says Humboldt Broncos bus crash survivor Brayden Camrud

7 years ago

Duration 1:38

Brayden Camrud, one of 13 people who survived the Humboldt Broncos bus crash, spoke to Susan Ormiston about how he's coping after the tragic crash that killed 16 people.

'I'm very lucky'

This week, Camrud was released from hospital but he went back to visit his teammates who are still receiving medical care.  

Former Olympian and star hockey player Hayley Wickenheiser and country singer Paul Brandt also stopped in.

Camrud said some are doing better than others. A few of the players even got day passes from the Royal University Hospital in order to attend Thomas's funeral, although they are still in wheelchairs.

Others, weren't in good enough condition to leave at all.

"I was very fortunate to suffer minimal injuries but I'm here on behalf of them," Camrud said. "I'm getting to the hospital as much as I can to see them because I need to be there for them. They'd do the exact same thing for me."

In order to cope, Camrud said he is trying not to think about the crash, which he said still "doesn't seem real." Love and support from his friends and family is getting him through the pain, he said.  

He has, however, thought about his friends and teammates that died riding the same bus he was.

"I'm very lucky to be here," said Camrud. "I'm going to take it day by day and I'm going to live my life for them and to the best of my ability ... try to make them proud."

Once he has fully healed, Camrud said he plans to get back into his hockey skates.

"They would've wanted me to continue playing," he said. "I'm going to play for them and I'm going to think about each and every one of them when I step out onto the ice.

"I'll continue to do that for as long as I can."