For eight months Jason St. Pierre has been slowly transforming his Suzuki M109 into a riding memorial, honouring those lives and families touched by the Humboldt Broncos’ bus crash last year.

“For everyone in Saskatchewan and Canada-wide, I think it hit everybody a different way and this was kind of my way of getting to keep the memories alive,” St. Pierre said.

The Easter long weekend signals the return of a Saskatoon tradition: the Draggins Rod and Custom Car Show at Prairieland Park. That’s where guests were struck with awe as they gazed at St. Pierre’s custom motorcycle, decked out and customized with symbols remembering the 2017-2018 Humboldt Broncos.

St. Pierre said he’s not at the Draggins’ show to show-off his motorcycle, he’s here to honour the memories of the Broncos’ and join together with others to heal from this traumatic event.

“The biggest thing is so many people come by and they just say ‘thank you,’” St. Pierre said. “A few people yesterday and today have just broke down and cried, and me being one of them. It’s an emotional weekend for me.”

The motorcycle was painted in Manitoba, and the intricate leatherwork was done here in Saskatoon. St. Pierre’s friend also crafted a leather motorcycle helmet with the number 29 on the front, representing the 29 passengers on the Broncos’ bus.

Growing up in Saskatoon and skating on up through Saskatoon minor hockey, St. Pierre said he knew some of the parents and the families impacted by the crash. This was a way he could help support them.

“I know some of them out there, I can’t imagine what they are going through, let alone what some of us behind the scenes have had to go through,” he said.

What the motorcycle rests on is a story in itself.

Lining the bottom platform are 136 hockey sticks, donated by SJHL teams from cities including Nipawin, North Battleford, plus donations from the University of Saskatchewan Huskies and the plethora of donations he collected from a Kijiji ad, looking for hockey sticks.

“It really suits the bike and it’s a cool platform as far as I can tell,” he said. “the kids love it when they come near they don’t even see the bike they see the hockey sticks and they try and find their hockey stick, it’s a good touch.”

St. Pierre said he probably clocked more than 1,000 kilometres collecting these sticks, and he estimates the bike is sitting on about $25,000 worth of hockey sticks.

“The finished product was well worth it for me, it’s a cool topic of conversation.”