It will be an emotional night on Wednesday when the Humboldt Broncos step on the ice for the first time since April’s bus crash, which claimed the lives of 16 players, coaches, and staff.

Moose Jaw's Chase Lacombe will be in the lineup for the Broncos when they square off with the Nipawin Hawks in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League's regular-season opener.

Lacombe said he's honoured to be following in the footsteps of last year's team as the Broncos continue to rebuild.

"The whole team has been pretty good with it, we're helping each other along the way," said Lacombe.

Wednesday's game will be broadcast nation-wide on TSN as they remember the members of the organization that died and those that had their lives changed forever on that fateful day traveling to a playoff game against the Hawks.

The Elgar Petersen Arena will be sold-out for the game.

Lacombe said the team is doing a good job of staying focused heading into the contest, "Our coach has been trying to tell us all week that it's just another game and that's how we're going to treat it and hopefully we can play some hockey and a win a game," he said.

The move to the SJHL will be a big jump for Lacombe, who played with the Moose Jaw Generals last season, registering one goal and two points in 42 games.

The 16-year-old defenceman said he spent the summer getting himself ready for the change from Midget AAA to Junior A.

"I worked out at the gym all summer and tried to be faster and stronger so that I could come up here and compete and make (the Broncos’ roster), which I'm very honoured to do," said Lacombe.

"I'm ready to go out there and prove to everyone that I can play at this level and show everyone what I can do."

Lacombe experienced the first trade of his young hockey career over the summer when he was dealt from the Edmonton Oil Kings to the Swift Current Broncos as part of the Jacson Alexander deal.

He said that he enjoyed his first training camp with Swift Current a few weeks ago, "I saw that I need to be patient, keep working on my game and hopefully, I'll get another chance with them next year," said Lacombe.

Lacombe and the Broncos hit the ice against the Niapwin Hawks at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday night. Moose Jaw will be well represented in Wednesday's game with fellow 16-year-old Jaxsen Wiebe and 19-year-old Jeremy Bisson cracking the Hawks' opening day lineup. The Hawks also feature former Moose Jaw Generals Jake Tremblay and Austen Flaman.

You can hear the game live at DiscoverHumboldt.com.