B.C. hockey community mourns Kamloops teens killed in Alberta crash

Childhood friends, former coaches and the Kamloops community are remembering the two teenage hockey players killed on their way to practice in Alberta this week

B.C.’s hockey community is mourning the loss of two local teenagers who were killed in a car crash on the way to practice south of Calgary, Alta., on Monday.

The victims have been identified as left-winger JJ Wright and goalie Cameron Casorso, both 18-year-olds from Kamloops, and 17-year-old centre Caden Fine from Birmingham, Ala. All three were members of the Southern Alberta Mustangs junior hockey team.

The players were in a small car that collided with a gravel truck at the intersection of Highway 2 and Highway 527 at approximately 11 a.m., according to the RCMP.

Read more: ‘Unimaginable heartbreak’: Tributes pour in after southern Alberta junior hockey players killed in crash

The Kamloops Minor Hockey Association, one of several organizations paying tribute to the players, says it is heartbroken over the loss of alumni Casorso and Wright, as well as their teammate Fine.

“​Cameron and JJ grew up in our association, spending many years as part of the KMHA family,” the association wrote in a statement, adding both played within the KMHA from the early 2010s to 2025.

“Their presence and impact will be remembered by teammates, coaches, and families throughout our community,” the statement continues. “Our thoughts are with the Casorso, Wright, and Fine families. These three young men were teammates and friends to many. We are grieving together, as one hockey family forever changed by the loss of these young men.”

Read more: Crash that killed Alberta junior hockey players wasn’t criminal: RCMP

“I find it really hard to, you know, wrap my head around the idea that someone is gone,” said Noah Paulson, who grew up with Casorso.

Paulson remembers his friend as someone whose positivity defined him.

“He was just a joy to be around, always had a smile on his face, one of the most outgoing guys I know and he loved hockey,” he said. “We used to go into my backyard and he would put on his pads and we would shoot around and shoot out for hours and hours in the dark. Probably some of my best memories with him.”

He said the heartbreak has crystallized a lesson he’ll carry forward. “You can’t take anything for granted and to tell the people I love that I love them.”

Narinder Serown, who coached Wright said the teen was a “coach’s dream,” and the glue in the locker room. He said it is difficult to put the loss into words.

“I was heartbroken, devastated,” he said. “Still can’t wrap myself around it.”

Serown said Wright was much more than a player. “You become a big family over the years, and, you know, JJ was like one of my kids.”

Another of Wright’s coaches, Rob Fryer, said the loss strikes especially hard as a parent.

“I was in shock,” he said. “It’s never easy, you know, losing a child. I can only imagine what (their) parents are going through.”

Kamloops deputy mayor Nancy Beeple said the tragedy reaches far beyond the arena.

“It’s going to affect all of the kids that played hockey with Cameron and JJ over the years, all of the coaches that coached them, the refs, the other parents, and really everybody who can see their child being the one that might have had this happen,” she said.

The Vancouver Canucks also offered their condolences, saying their hearts go out to the young players’ families, friends and community.

“We grieve with you and hold you in our thoughts during this unimaginably difficult time,” Canucks Sports and Entertainment wrote in a statement.

B.C. Premier David Eby expressed his sympathies on social media, writing “their loss is felt across our province. Young lives, taken far too soon.”

Authorities said Tuesday that the crash appears to be an accident and no criminal charges are expected.

As condolences and tributes continue to pour in from across B.C. and Canada, a benefit game is planned at the Stavely arena on Sunday to raise money for the players’ families.