Stavley (Rajeev Sharma): Three players from the Southern Alberta Mustangs junior hockey team were killed Monday morning in a devastating vehicle collision while travelling to a team practice, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).
The crash occurred at an intersection along Highway 2 in Stavely, roughly an hour south of Calgary. RCMP said the collision involved a northbound semitruck hauling gravel and a small passenger vehicle travelling east.
The victims were identified as 18-year-olds JJ Wright and Cameron Casorso, both from Kamloops, British Columbia, and 17-year-old Caden Fine of Birmingham, Alabama. All three were members of the Mustangs, a U.S. Premier Hockey League team.
Police said the driver of the semitruck, a 40-year-old man from Stavely, suffered minor injuries. The investigation into the cause of the crash is ongoing.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith expressed her condolences in a social media post, calling the loss heartbreaking for the entire hockey community.
“The whole Alberta hockey family is standing with you in sorrow and in prayer,” Smith wrote, adding that Albertans would surround the families and the team with support during this difficult time.
The Southern Alberta Mustangs said they are working closely with authorities and requested privacy for the families affected.
“There are no words that can adequately express the depth of our grief,” the team said in a statement. “These young men were more than hockey players — they were sons, brothers, friends and cherished members of our Mustangs family.”
At the team’s arena, tributes were set up with three white and red jerseys bearing the players’ names, alongside three hockey sticks placed upright in remembrance.
The Kamloops Minor Hockey Association also paid tribute, noting that Wright and Casorso had grown up within the Kamloops hockey system. Casorso played in the association from 2012 to 2025, while Wright was part of the program from 2011 to 2025.
“Though their hockey journeys began in Kamloops, they found a second family with the Southern Alberta Mustangs,” the association said.
The Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League also offered condolences, sharing on social media that their thoughts and prayers were with all those impacted by the tragedy.
The crash has revived painful memories across the hockey world of the 2018 Humboldt Broncos tragedy, when 16 people were killed after a junior hockey team bus collided with a semitruck in Saskatchewan. Humboldt Mayor Rob Muench expressed solidarity with the Mustangs community, saying Humboldt stands with them in mourning.
