‘Mindset shift’: Humboldt Broncos bus crash survivor speaks to B.C. students
Published 10:30 am Thursday, February 19, 2026
“Let’s go win the day.”
That simple phrase carried Kaleb Dahlgren through the darkest chapter of his life and, on Tuesday night, it echoed through the theatre at Royal Bay Secondary.
Dahlgren, 28, a survivor of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash, delivered a one-hour presentation on Feb. 17 to nearly 200 people. The April 6, 2018 crash killed 16 people, leaving just 13 survivors.
In the midst of his presentation, standing before a silent crowd, Dahlgren detailed the moments leading up to the crash.
Then, with a blank screen behind him and a deliberate pause, he described what came next.
“I woke up, four days after the crash, not knowing what happened,” Dahlgren said. “My parents were there sitting with me in the hospital, and I didn’t really believe them when they told me what happened. I thought I was dreaming.”
A physiotherapist later outlined the extent of his injuries: fractures and a puncture wound to his skull, a brain injury, two broken vertebrae in his neck, three more that were fractured or cracked, and four broken vertebrae in his back.
“And that’s when I decided I wasn’t going to let this define me,” he said.
While the crash and its aftermath formed the backbone of the presentation, Dahlgren’s message stretched far beyond tragedy.
During his hour-long presentation, Kaleb Dahlgren recalled the day of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash, and the resilience that carried him through it. (Tony Trozzo/Goldstream Gazette)
He spoke candidly about survivor’s guilt and the mental shift that followed, from asking why he survived to asking how he could honour his fallen teammates.
That path forward, he said, rests on three pillars: perspective, response and action.
Those principles did not emerge overnight.
Long before the crash, Dahlgren had already built a reputation for showing up for others.
Born in Saskatoon, he played three seasons in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League, two with the Notre Dame Hounds and one with the Humboldt Broncos.
In Humboldt, he became known not just as a player, but as someone who embraced the community around him.
He shared the story of his “taxi crew,” which included four members of the local Special Olympics floor hockey team who struggled to get to Broncos home games.
After noticing one player, Dallas, walking his broken bike home from an game, Dahlgren pulled over to offer a ride.
He soon learned the group’s van arrived late and left early, forcing them to miss key moments.
So he made a change.
“If you’re cool coming two hours before the game or so, like even three, I’ll take you to the game,” Dahlgren recalled telling Dallas along a street in Humboldt. “Then if you’re cool waiting like one hour after, I’ll bring you home.”
Dallas responded with what Dahlgren described as an immediate yes, followed by another question.
“Can I bring my friends, too?”
On home game days, Dahlgren would leave early, picking up Dallas and his friends from two different group homes and driving them to the rink.
The three-minute ride became a ritual, breaking down opponents and strategy before blasting AC/DC’s Thunderstruck as they pulled into the arena parking lot.
If the Broncos won, the crew celebrated with a drive-thru stop.
If they lost, Dahlgren faced playful but pointed criticism about missed chances and leadership.
Through it all, he described their authenticity and zest for life as a source of inspiration.
And it was one of those members of the taxi crew, that gave him the phrase, “let’s win the day.”
Each day, he reminded the crowd, is another chance to win it.
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