Former coaches remember 17-year-old St. Clair County hockey player killed in Canada
By Lisa Crane
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PELHAM, Alabama (WVTM) — A St. Clair County teen was killed in a car crash in Canada on Monday. He was playing hockey on a junior league team in Alberta and died along with two Canadian teammates when their car was hit by a semi-truck loaded with gravel.
For 17-year-old Caden Fine, hockey was his life. He started playing when he was nine, and last year he signed with the Southern Alberta Mustangs junior league team and moved to Canada. Craig Simchuk is the head coach for the Birmingham Bulls. He coached Fine when he was younger.
“For local guys here, that’s kind of their way out is to move up the ladder either to Nashville or some bigger cities where hockey is more predominant,” said Simchuk.
Learning of his death on Monday in a car crash has been devastating to those at his home rink in Pelham. Taylor Dickin coached Fine when he played on the Birmingham Bulls junior team.
“It’s a small hockey community here, and all the kids play with each other right when they start playing and maybe as young as five, right? So, they get to know each other really, really well and spend a lot of time on the road in hotels and things like that. So, I know all the kids involved are hit pretty hard, with the news,” said Dicken.
His coaches brag on Fine’s hockey skills. One thing they all mentioned was that fine was considered small for this sport, but that didn’t hold him back. His love for the game made up for his size. Simchuk added, “The old cliche is, you know, you need to be big and tough to play the sport. But he made up for it with his heart and his grit, like he knew that he was smaller, but that didn’t stop him. And it actually probably propelled him and drove him to where he was fearless.”
Fine leaves behind a heartbroken family including an older sister and younger brother. His father said in the depths of his grief he wants to make sure people remember his son for not only being a good hockey player but also for being a great kid.
Another one of Caden’s coaches has started a fundraiser to help his family deal with transporting his body back home and funeral arrangements.
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