An emotional goodbye in Slave Lake, Alta. as hundreds packed a local church to remember 21-year-old Conner Lukan.
Lukan is described as a fearless, quiet leader on and off the ice.
He was a talented hockey player who loved the game, reality TV show “The Bachelor,” and Tim Hortons coffee.
He also hated squirrels.
Kevin Grainger, president of the Humboldt Broncos, and his wife, Kathy, billeted Conner. They said they loved him as soon as they met him.
“Conner lit up every room with his infectious smile and grin,” Kevin said.
“It isn’t possible to just like Conner, it really isn’t. You have no choice but to love him. That’s what we learned from the first moment he entered our home: love at first sight,” he said.
“We will never forget this young man who came to us for a season, but will stay with us forever,” Kathy said.
Lukan and 15 others were killed after the team’s bus and a semi truck collided on a Saskatchewan highway on April 6. Thirteen people were injured.
“I’m going to miss sitting with him on the bench, talking about hockey, talking about our play; fooling around with him at practice, shooting pucks at each other; or standing on the blue line together and trying to pick any cute faces out in the crowd,” Brayden Camrud, a Broncos teammate, said.
“Not only was Conner a teammate, he was a close friend – he was my brother.”
Lukan played with the midget St. Albert Raiders and Spruce Grove Saints in the Alberta Junior Hockey League before joining the Broncos last year.
With files from Bill Fortier
