[Content warning: Though this article only discusses the topics at hand in simple, not detailed terms, it does cover a horrific vehicular accident that claimed the lives of four teenagers/young men and sexual abuse of minors. Several of the links herein also discuss these events/offenses in more detail. Reader discretion is advised.]

In continuation with the tendencies established by the activity that occurred early in this brand’s history, part of our offseason work will be committed to historical pieces. In a sense, this article is a spiritual successor to yesterday’s work, wherein we intensively discussed abuses of power by coaches in the Western Hockey League in the past year. Here, we will look back, examining one of the most horrifying stories in hockey history which revolves greatly around such abuses, committed by the head coach of a team discussed in yesterday’s story: the Swift Current Broncos.

The story begins in the Broncos’ first season back in their town of formation in Saskatchewan (1986-87) after having spent 12 years in Lethbridge, Alberta. This was a big event for the town of Swift Current, as the community had clamored for the return of major junior hockey and got it back with the team becoming community owned. However, horrifying events would be in store for the franchise. The afternoon of December 30th, 1986 marked one of the most tragic days in the history of the sport, as the team’s bus crashed due to black ice on the road en route to Regina for a game against the Pats. Four players on board – Trent Kresse, Scott Kruger, Chris Mantyka, and Brent Ruff (younger brother of then-Buffalo Sabres captain/current Sabres head coach in his second stint Lindy Ruff) – were killed. Needless to say, such an event left a massive mark on the psyche of this group of young players. However, when the matter of continuation was put to a vote, the players and head coach/GM Graham James opted not to suspend their season. Despite carrying an incredible amount of hurt inside, the group perisisted (utilizing prospects to fill out the roster rather than accepting players loaned out from other teams) and made the postseason that year, very much to the credit of a future Hockey Hall of Famer, C Joe Sakic (still effectively a rookie at the time, having only played three games the previous WHL season). The Burnaby, BC native had a terrific year playing under a coach that emphasized skillful, exciting hockey, tallying 133 points in 72 games and earning the WHL East Stewart “Butch” Paul Memorial Trophy as Rookie of the Year and WHL East Player of the Year honors. Sakic’s following campaign was even more impressive, garnering 160 points in 64 games played, leading the WHL in points alongside the Moose Jaw Warriors’ Theoren Fleury (who will become relevant to this narrative again soon enough), with the two sharing the newly dubbed Bob Clarke Trophy, and being recognized as both WHL and CHL Player of the Year. Sakic, however, like his teammates alongside whom he had survived the carnage, was carrying hurt that he never opened up about throughout his entire playing career.

Indeed, the surviving Broncos were instructed by James not to seek professional help for the psychological trauma they endured. Instead, James insisted that they go through this together in a “professional” way: Quietly, and as a group. With James still at the helm, the Broncos would win the Memorial Cup in 1989. James was viewed as an outstanding leader who was the key catalyst to a healing process and on-ice success. He was selected by The Hockey News as their man of the year in 1989 (later rescinded) and would have several more years of competitive hockey in the tank for Swift Current, winning another league title in 1993. James would depart in 1994 to organize the founding of an expansion franchise that would become known as the Calgary Hitmen, which was owned by a group of investors that included Sakic, the aforementioned Theo Fleury (who had played under James with Moose Jaw and since became a star in the NHL), and pro wrestling star/native Calgarian Bret “The Hitman” Hart. He served as head coach/GM in their inaugural 1995-96 campaign but would resign on September 5th, 1996, as the terrifying truth would come to light.

As it would turn out, the true motivation for James’ instruction to his Swift Current players to not seek professional help (or, perhaps more appropriately, his forbidding of this) was to cover his own tracks. It was entirely a move to not expose his crimes. In November 1996, James would be charged with two counts of sexual assault tying to over 300 encounters with two of his former players with Swift Current. He would plead guilty on January 2nd, 1997, and be sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison. One of the victims was Sheldon Kennedy, a survivor of the bus crash, with the other victim being unnamed. The Canadian Hockey Association banned James from coaching for life. He would additionally have a six-month concurrent sentence for indecent assault added to his record, stemming from acts committed on a 14-year-old boy in 1971. This was just the beginning of a saga that would reveal James as a horrific serial offender, with Fleury eventually coming forward as one of his victims, as well, with James pleading guilty to related charges in 2011.

This truly is one of the most heartbreaking and unconscionable stories in the history of North American sports. Were it not enough that the team and its young players were beset and irreversibly damaged by a horrific and traumatizing event wherein several of their friends lost their lives, it was compounded by their “leader” and “mentor” being a monster and predator. This is one of the most grim reminders of what can occur within sporting institutions. The community of this sport should never forget this horrible sequence of events and hopefully have meaningful takeaways from it.