Morgan Gobeil
November 11, 1999
Hometown: Humboldt.SK
#24
Position: Defence
Born and raised in Humboldt, Morgan spent his childhood chasing his hockey dreams at the Elgar Petersen Arena. His love for hockey started long before he could lace up his own skates. Many of his weekends were spent at the EPA and numerous other small town rinks watching his big brother play. He never went without a mini stick and made many friends during those impromptu lobby games! Some would become his future teammates and others his opponents, but the rink was a place where he made bonds that lasted far beyond hockey. Just before his 5th birthday, he finally was able to play his first of 13 seasons as a Bronco within Humboldt’s Minor Hockey system. He also never missed the opportunity to play road hockey and he spent hours at the outdoor rink. In the fall of 2017, Morgan joined the Humboldt Broncos as a rookie defenceman, thoroughly enjoying his chance to play Junior Hockey in his hometown!
Although he started with hockey, Morgan quickly realized he loved all sports. When he was in grade one, he started anticipating the day he could play football. Finally, in grade nine, he was able to join his high school football team, the HCI Mohawks, loving it not only for the game, but because he was able to play it with so many of his buddies. Fortunately, the wait for baseball was not as long, and at the age of eight, he started playing the first of nine seasons of baseball with the Humboldt Dodgers and ended his final year of Minor Baseball with the AAA Muenster Red Sox. Since he was always happiest when being active, he filled any spare moments he had with basketball, badminton, running, working out, or any other type of activity!
Morgan was a dedicated student and worked hard to achieve excellent marks. His ultimate goal was to play a sport at the college level. He was in his senior year at Humboldt Collegiate Institute at the time of the accident, but was able to graduate in June of 2018.
For the past three years, Morgan has been working extremely hard at rehabilitating from the very serious injuries he sustained in his team’s bus crash on April 6th, 2018. The determination and strong work ethic that he used to excel in sports and at school continue to shine through in his recovery!
Morgan always strived to do his best. He liked to lead by example and was determined to start by earning his spot and end with making a positive difference. In that spirit, Morgan’s family hosted a hockey tournament in May of 2018 to raise funds for STARS, an organization that provided the essential transportation and the critical care that was instrumental to his survival. It is now known as the Last Man Back Charity Fundraiser for STARS, named because he was a defenseman and because Morgan was the last of his teammates to leave the hospital. The annual event has become an important initiative of the entire Gobeil family.
The commitment and discipline Morgan learned in hockey and other sports has served him well as he strives to regain his motor function and speech. Even in recovery, Morgan continues to live his life as an inspiration to others.