Prince Albert hockey fans will have a chance to salute Layne Matechuk on Sunday afternoon at the Art Hauser Centre.
The former Prince Albert Mintos blueliner, who was one of the survivors of the Humboldt Broncos bus accident in April, will be honoured by the team during a pre-game ceremony ahead of a 1:30 p.m. contest with the Notre Dame Hounds.
“Layne was one of the last guys to be released from the hospital a couple of months ago, and while he still has a way to go in his recovery, he’s feel well enough to go out and about now,” Mintos team manager Don Fauchoux said.
“As a result, we wanted to have the opportunity to do something special for him this weekend.”
The Mintos had a chance to catch up with Matechuk this past month, as he came to see the team during a road game with the Saskatoon Contacts.
“Him and his dad (Kevin) came down to watch us and it was pretty awesome to get the chance to catch up with him,” Fauchoux said.
Prior to moving up to the SJHL with the Broncos last season, Matechuk had 39 points in 83 Midget AAA contests with the Mintos from 2014-16.
“He made it in on our blueline as a 15-year-old and really blossomed over his two seasons with us,” Fauchoux said.
“He improved so much in his second season with us that Humboldt wanted to bring him in as an underage player.”