Junior hockey community mourns loss of three players after Alberta vehicle crash

Crossed hockey sticks are shown outside of the Stavely Arena in Stavely, Alta., Monday, Feb. 2, 2026. Three players on an Alberta junior hockey team were killed Monday in a vehicle crash while heading to practice. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Larry MacDougal

STAVELY — The junior hockey community in western Canada is in mourning after three players were killed in a southern Alberta vehicle crash on their way to practice.

On social media, the Humboldt Broncos have posted condolences for the Southern Alberta Mustangs hockey team following the deaths of JJ Wright, Cameron Casorso and Caden Fine.

RCMP have said officers were called Monday to the fatal crash between a semi truck and a vehicle in the small town of Stavely, about an hour’s drive south of Calgary.

• Alberta junior hockey players killed in crash while travelling to team practice

Mike Gilroy, a former player co-ordinator with the Mustangs, says the players were a group of inspiring young men who cared deeply for hockey.

The crash has stirred up memories of April 2018, when a bus carrying the Broncos collided with a semi truck that blew through a stop sign near Tisdale, Sask., killing 16 people and injuring 13.

On Monday, the Calgary Flames and the Toronto Maple Leafs paid tribute to the three players with a moment of silence before puck drop.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 3, 2026.