CANORA – Due to the tragic Humboldt Broncos bus crash Adam Herold may be gone, but his impact and his legacy continues, both on the ice and off.
As part of the Adam Herold Hockey and Leadership Development weekend in Canora on Nov. 1-2, participants took in a leadership session conducted by Todd Liskowich is a close friend of Adam Herold’s family with 25 years of coaching experience at various levels from U11 all the way up to U18AAA.
Liskowich opened by introducing and playing a video on Adam’s life and his impact, even though he passed away before his 17th birthday. The video included news reports on the bus crash that killed Adam.
It went back to his childhood on the family farm near Montmartre, Saskatchewan. Born in April 2001, he had a typical small town Saskatchewan childhood including hunting, waterskiing, snowmobiling, as well as hockey and other sports.
His former coach during his time with the U18AAA Regina Pat Canadians, Darrin McKechnie, shared his thoughts. “Adam was hard working, well prepared, and always ready to help his teammates.”
Adam’s only sibling, his sister Erin shared, “He believed in being kind to everyone.”
McKechnie added, “Adam is the blueprint for what we want to be in young hockey players and young people in general.”
The video ended with the message that, “We want to continue on with all the things that Adam probably would have done with his life.
“The world needs more captains.”
Liskowich followed the video by asking the group of youngsters to name the leaders of their community. The responses included “teachers, coaches, parents and grandparents.”
Liskowich agreed with the answers, but then added, “You don’t have to be in a position of power to be a leader. We can all be leaders.”
He shared the origin of how hockey players started wearing letters- ‘C’ for captain and ‘A’ for assistant captain.
“It was to indicate a player who is allowed to talk to an official. Now, it’s also about leadership.”
Liskowich spoke on what it takes to be a good leader. An important quality is to be supportive.
“All players, and people in general, will have a bad day. It’s so important to have a teammate come up to you, maybe tap you on the pads, and say ‘Don’t worry about it.’ That kind of support is just as important in our daily lives.”
Liskowich referred back to the video where Adam, during an interview, was talking about the importance of being trustworthy.
“Whether it’s on a hockey team or with a co-worker, this is important in any part of life,” said Liskowich. Leaders should always give a good effort.
“We need to lead by example,” he said. “In hockey it’s especially important in the older age groups, because the younger kids are always watching. We don’t have to hit the hardest or be the fastest, it’s all about giving a good effort.”
“It’s good to have goals,” added Liskowich. “But goals are cheap and don’t mean anything unless they are followed by action to try and reach those goals.”
He told the group that he and the other Adam Herold Legacy Foundation instructors would be returning to Canora in January 2026 for another weekend. All participants received a log sheet, where they are encouraged to write down things they do to make their community better, and be ready to share that list in January.
Participants were then asked to brainstorm some ideas for that list. Responses included:
- Shovel snow for someone;
- Donate money;
- Hold the door open for someone;
- Help the elderly;
- Do your chores; and
- Clean up garbage, even if it’s not yours.
Liskowich told the group that Adam Herold, as his hockey career progressed, billeted in Regina for two seasons. Whenever the billet mom came home with groceries, without being asked, he always rushed outside to help carry the groceries into the house.
“Adam’s impact went far beyond hockey,” said Liskowich. “He was a good person from small-town Saskatchewan.
“Don’t look beside you, look inside you to make a difference in this world,” he said, adding with a smile, “Hopefully when you become prime minister, you’ll do better than what we’ve had recently.”
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