Darcy Haugan was remembered over the weekend when a bronze statue, created and made here in Cochrane, was unveiled in Peace River.

Haugan, who was originally from Peace River, was tragically killed when the bus he was riding in collided with a semi-truck in April 2018. The crash killed 16 members of the Humboldt Broncos hockey family. 

Before Haugan moved to Humboldt to coach the Broncos, he helped lead the North Peace Navigators to five league championships. 

Shirley Begg and her husband Don Begg own Studio West here in Cochrane, and have been creating bronze statues for 50 years. 

Begg says "Darcy was very, very important to the young players in Peace River, and his tragic death, they wanted to memorialize him in some significant way, in his hometown."

She says they were honoured to be chosen to create the long-lasting statue. 

"They thought of naming a street or a park and then the idea of a bronze statue being much more permanent and long-lasting. They approached us because we had done the Mayerthorpe memorial, and about 250 statues world-wide, and they felt that we had the experience."

Begg says it's a process that takes about 18 months from start to finish, and it started with getting to know Darcy's family. 

"We got to know his family. What kind of a man he was. Why his coaching and mentoring meant so much to the players and to his whole community, and then we decided on how to properly represent him."

"It's like a moment in time. Many people would have seen him at a practice just like he's portrayed in the statue."

Begg says they're getting a lot of feedback from people all over the country. 

"We were really honoured to be chosen to represent him. We are amazed at the response we're getting from all across Canada."

You can find more information about Studio West here.