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3 Junior Hockey Players Killed; 'Today Our Family Is Hurting'

Teens who played for Southern Alberta Mustangs died in a crash with a semi on way to practice
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Feb 3, 2026 12:13 PM CST
3 Junior Hockey Players Killed on Way to Practice
Crossed hockey sticks are shown outside of the Stavely Arena in Stavely, Alberta, Monday, Feb. 2, 2026.   (Larry MacDougal/The Canadian Press via AP)

Three Southern Alberta Mustangs junior hockey players were killed Monday in a vehicle crash while heading to practice. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said it responded to the crash at an intersection with Highway 2 in Stavely—about an hour's drive south of Calgary. JJ Wright and Cameron Casorso, both 18 and from Kamloops, British Columbia, and 17-year-old Caden Fine of Birmingham, Alabama, were killed. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, in a social media post, offered condolences to the players' families and teammates. "The whole Alberta hockey family is standing with you in sorrow and in prayer," Smith said, per the AP.

RCMP said the crash involved a northbound semi truck pulling gravel and a small passenger vehicle going east. The driver of the semi, a 40-year-old man from Stavely, sustained minor injuries. The US Premier Hockey League team said on Facebook that it is working closely with authorities on the investigation and is asking for privacy for the players' families. "There are no words that can adequately express the depth of our grief," the team said. "These young men were more than hockey players—they were teammates, sons, brothers, friends, and deeply loved members of our Mustangs family and the communities we call home. We are a family, and today our family is hurting."

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 BC 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."

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