Three Alberta junior hockey players killed in crash en route to practice

Three members of an Alberta junior hockey team were killed in a crash while driving to practice in southern Alberta on Monday.

Emergency crews were called to Highway 2 and 55 Avenue in the town of Stavely, about 100 kilometres south of Calgary, around 11 a.m. for reports of a two-vehicle collision.

RCMP say a semi-truck pulling gravel was heading northbound on the highway while a small passenger vehicle was heading eastbound on 55 Avenue when they collided in the intersection.

All three occupants of the passenger vehicle were killed. Mounties confirmed that two 18-year-olds from Kamloops and a 17-year-old boy from Alabama were pronounced dead.

The driver of the semi, a 40-year-old Stavely resident, suffered minor injuries and was not transported to the hospital.

The Southern Alberta Mustangs, based in Stavely, confirmed the deaths of three of their players in a social media post on Monday afternoon. Other posts have identified the three players as JJ Wright, Cameron Casorso and Caden Fine.

The team’s statement calls the trio “more than hockey players, they were teammates, sons, brothers, friends and deeply loved members of our Mustang family.”

“There are no words that can adequately express the depth of our grief,” the team said. “We are a family, and today our family is hurting.”

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith offered condolences and called the incident an “unimaginable loss.”

“The whole Alberta hockey family is standing with you in sorrow and in prayer,” reads a statement from Smith. “I know Albertans will wrap these families and this team in love and support as they navigate a pain no one should ever have to bear.”

Prime Minister Mark Carney offered his condolences following the fatal vehicle crash, saying, “Canadians are keeping the entire Southern Alberta Mustangs community in our thoughts as they face this unimaginable grief.”

At the town’s arena, three white-and-red jerseys with the last names of the players were draped over a table, along with three upright hockey sticks.

The Kamloops Minor Hockey Association said in a statement that Casorso and Wright grew up in the B.C. organization. Casorso played from 2012 to 2025 and Wright from 2011 to 2025.

“Although their journeys began here in Kamloops, they found a second hockey family and a new bond with the Southern Alberta Mustangs,” the statement said. “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.”

On Monday, the Calgary Flames and the Toronto Maple Leafs paid tribute to the three players with a moment of silence before puck drop, with the former also offering support on social media.

“Tragic, tragic,” Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid told reporters Tuesday. “Something that touches close to home – three guys headed to practice. Just tragic. You’re thinking about their families, for sure.”

The Mustangs are a junior team that plays in the Canadian division of the United States Premier Hockey League (USPHL). The team has several players from the Calgary area on their roster.

The team said it is working closely with authorities and is asking the public and media for privacy as families and teammates grapple with the sudden loss.

The investigation into the cause of the crash is ongoing.

With files from The Canadian Press