LETHBRIDGE — For hockey players, fans, and Canadians with connections to the game and southern Saskatchewan, April has become a time of remembering and commemorating the 16 lives lost in the 2018 Humboldt Broncos bus crash, and the sacrifice of one young player in particular.
Twenty-one-year-old Broncos defenceman Logan Boulet died one day after the April 6 crash that caught the nation’s attention, and one decision he had made on his parent’s back deck almost a year earlier had a massive ripple affect still palpable seven years later.
“He just said ‘When I pass away I want to donate my organs.’ And I said, ‘Will you be 85 and no one will want your organs?’ He looked at me and said ‘No. If Ric Suggitt can donate six of his organs so others can live, so can I.’”
It was that difficult, unexpected conversation with his now late son Toby Boulet recalls as the beginning of the last seven years of he and wife Bernadine’s life after Logan’s death. Inspired by former coach and mentor Suggitt’s sacrifice, Logan’s prior decision to donate his organs saved six lives, just as Suggitt’s had, after his April 7 passing in 2018.
The crash itself and news of Logan’s donation made waves across prairies and beyond, and an estimated 150,000 Canadians from coast to coast signed up as organ donors through provincial registries, the largest donor uptake credited to a single person in Canada’s history.
That ripple impact became known as the Logan Boulet Effect, and one year after his passing, April 7 was declared Green Shirt Day as a way to honour Logan’s memory and harness the momentum to create awareness for organ donation.
Seven years later, the Boulet’s haven’t slowed down in their advocacy efforts, travelling across their home province of Alberta and beyond for speaking engagements and presentations.
This March, the Green Shirt Day foundation, involving the Boulet family and the Canadian Transplant Association, unveiled a new logo for the cause, chosen from many submissions to the 2025 Green Shirt Day logo design contest.
“This year’s designer is Geoffrey Kehrig, hes a teacher from Port Coquitlam, but he grew up in Humboldt and he loved the Broncos,” said Toby. “He idolized Logan’s decision to be an organ donor, he thought that was an awesome thing to do. ‘
Toby said Kehrig’s logo spoke to the family through intentional design choices such as using a silhouette of Logan’s slapshot form from a photo complete with his number on the jersey, and the inclusion of the Humboldt Strong tagline.
“Logan was a team player; it wasn’t about Logan, it was about the team,” said Toby. “To us, that’s an important thing that we would have asked him to change, but we didn’t have to ask him to change that."
Green shirts, jerseys, hats and more with Kehrig’s winning logo can be purchased from the Green Shirt Day foundation, and proceeds from sales go back to the organization, the Logan Boulet Endowment Fund, and the Canadian Transplant Association.
Toby and Bernadine were presented with King Charles III Coronation Medals by Lethbridge Mayor Blaine Hyggen the same day Kehrig’s logo was revealed, and Toby said the couple are also gearing up to receive honourary degrees from the University of Lethbridge in October as recognition of their continued advocacy efforts.
“We are continually amazed and thankful for the support of Canadians and people outside of Canada,” said Toby. “It’s just wonderful to know that people are having the conversations with their loved ones about what would happen if they passed away.”
He encouraged everyone considering organ donation to go a step further than checking the box on the back of your healthcare card or licence renewal application or registering online, and have difficult discussions like the one Logan had with him.
“It’s one thing to be a registered organ donor like Logan was, but the crash happened in Saskatchewan,” said Toby. “They didn’t find his wallet for two weeks. So what good is a drivers licence at that time? It’s better that you have the conversation.”
And while the Toby said the still-palpable ripples of the Logan Boulet Effect, and the recognition by way of honourary medals and degrees are profoundly meaningful for the Boulet family, the thought of Logan’s take on their efforts over the years is all the encouragement they need to keep going.
“He’d be laughing at us, because that’s the kind of guy he is. He’d go, ‘Why are you doing this?’” said Toby through tears. “’Why am I getting this attention?’”
“Because it’s just the right thing to do.”
