4 young hockey players are being heralded as heroes and rightfully so.
In a heartwarming tale of humanity, and right around the holiday season no less, 4 members of the Western Hockey League's Brandon Wheat Kings have gone above and beyond the call of duty and have almost certainly saved the life of a 5th man in the process.
Jake Chiasson, Calder Anderson, Nolan Ritchie and Ben Thornton of the Wheat Kings were on their way home after volunteering at the local Samaritan House when they spotted a man sitting on the edge of a bridge. Many passersby would likely have simply kept going and left the man to his business, but the 4 young men sensed that something was wrong so they stopped their car and decided to check in on him.
“I got out of the car and asked him if he was okay,” said Anderson as per the WHL's official website. “He informed me that things weren’t great for him and he was having some pretty bad thoughts, so I asked him if we could get some help and he agreed.
“I think the biggest thing in that situation is just to ask the person if they need help, and as soon as I asked, you could see the relief on his face knowing he had someone to care for him.”
After talking to the man the group of young men would proceed to contact emergency services and they were then quickly joined by other individuals on the bridge who offered assistance until emergency services arrived on the scene.
Chiasson, who made the 911 call, explained that the boys did what they did because of the lessons that had been instilled in them both at home and in hockey.
“I think it’s just something that all of our parents and this organization have taught,” Chiasson told the Sun. “It’s about picking each other up and just caring for everyone."
Unsurprisingly, Wheat Kings head coach and general manager Marty Murray was over the moon when he had heard about what his boys had done.
“It doesn’t get any bigger than that,” said Murray. “What happens if they drove by or they didn’t get out of the car to talk to that gentleman? That makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up for sure."
As mentioned all of the boys involved are being heralded as heroes and, as Murray mentions, considering what could have happened had they not intervened they definitely deserve that recognition.
