The tragic death of three junior hockey players brings back painful memories for Scott Thomas. He’s the father of Evan Thomas, one of the players killed in the 2018 Humboldt Broncos bus crash.
“I saw that online and my heart just sank. I immediately went to their parents and what they’re going through,” Thomas told the Evan Bray Show on Tuesday.
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Thomas said he thought back to those first chaotic 48 to 72 hours following the accident, when he and other parents had to identify the remains of their children.
“You look back and you don’t even know how you got through it,” he said.
“Just to have that immediate feeling of loss and (thinking) now what are we going to do and the regrets and (it was) the last time you saw your boy.
“That’s the unfortunate part about hockey accidents is if there’s one boy involved, there’s going to be multiple because hockey players always travel together.”
Prime minister’s response
Prime Minister Mark Carney says his heart goes out to the families and teammates of three junior hockey players killed in a crash in Alberta.
The crash happened Monday morning between a semi truck hauling gravel and a vehicle in the small town of Stavely, south of Calgary.
The Southern Alberta Mustangs in Stavely said the three players were on their way to practice.
My heart breaks for the families of the three young hockey players killed in a car accident near Stavely, Alberta.
— Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) February 3, 2026
Canadians are keeping the entire Southern Alberta Mustangs community in our thoughts as they face this unimaginable grief.
JJ Wright and Cameron Casorso, both 18, were from Kamloops, B.C., and Caden Fine, 17, was from Alabama.
“To every parent, every teammate, family, friends, and my heart goes out to the families of victims on the team,” Carney said Tuesday in Ottawa.
The Mustangs play in the U.S. Premier Hockey League’s Premier Division.
Mike Gilroy, a former player coordinator with the Mustangs, said the players were inspiring young men who cared deeply for hockey.
“They had the spark in their eyes and the fire in their hearts every day and enjoyed being a part of a team and took the time to put in the extra work to be successful,” he said.
He added it was Fine’s dream to play hockey in Canada.
On social media, the Humboldt Broncos with the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League posted condolences for the Mustangs.
Sixteen people were killed and 13 were injured when a bus carrying the Broncos crashed in April 2018.
The team had been on its way to a playoff game when a semi truck blew through a stop sign and into the path of the bus at a rural intersection near Tisdale, Sask.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 3, 2026.









