Humboldt Broncos player paralyzed in crash says survivors bonding

Humboldt Broncos hockey player Ryan Straschnitzki, who was paralyzed following a bus crash that killed 16 people, is wheeled by his father Tom as his mother Michelle, left, walks beside in Calgary, Alta., Wednesday, April 25, 2018. (Jeff McIntosh/CP)

CALGARY — A Humboldt Broncos player says a crash that killed 16 people and left him paralyzed has brought the surviving members of his hockey team closer together.

Ryan Straschnitzki, who is 19, sat in a wheelchair as he spoke with reporters at Calgary’s Foothills hospital, where he is undergoing treatment and rehabilitation.

He says he and his teammates text message each other every day as they all try to cope with their injuries and grief.

Straschnitzki was transferred last week from a Saskatoon hospital to be closer to his family in Airdrie, Alta.

Five players remain in hospital in Saskatoon, while eight others have been released or transferred to other care centres.

The junior hockey team was on it’s way to a playoff game when it’s bus and a semi truck collided on a highway in northeastern Saskatchewan on April 6.

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