18-year-old player dies in car crash en route to practice

The hockey community on Vancouver Island is grieving as an 18-year-old junior player died in a car crash on the way to practice with his Peninsula Panthers.

Forward Grant Gilbertson was involved in a deadly collision along Sooke Road on Monday evening as he was driving to practice for his Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League club at the Panorama Rec Centre in North Saanich.

The RCMP reported that the incident took place on January 3 at approximately 6 p.m. near Humpback Road in Langford and it is believed that icy conditions played a major role in the cause of the accident. It was confirmed by West Shore RCMP on Tuesday that the collision was fatal and that Gilbertson succumbed to his injuries at the scene of the crash.

“I drove to the rink for practice around 5:30 pm and the roads were absolutely fine but when I arrived in the parking lot at the Panorama I could see that it looked really greasy,” said Panthers owner Pete Zubersky per Chek News.

“Grant’s Mom called me a while later and said that she had heard that there had been an accident in the 4-lane near Humpback Road and she was worried that it might be Grant. I checked the dressing rooms downstairs and nobody had heard from him and so a few of the guys tried to contact him without any luck. When he didn’t show for practice and didn’t get to practice, I was getting really concerned as well.”

20 minutes after practice, Zubersky found out about the incident and described the moment as “devastating.”

“I cannot explain the grief we felt as a group, it was palatable. I am just so saddened by this situation and I know that Grant’s family and friends have had their hearts ripped out,” Zubersky says.

“This is really a true tragedy in every sense of the word and our Organization’s every thought, every second of every day is on Grant and his family.”

Grant was described as a player who was “blossoming into one of the upper-echelon forwards in the league.” The team is set to play the next game with the blessing of the family in honour of Grant.

The Panthers are scheduled to play in the Westshore against the Wolves on Wednesday night, followed by a home game on Friday against the Victoria Cougars. A 25-30 minute ceremony in celebration of Grant’s life will begin promptly at 7:30 p.m. ahead of the Friday night game.

Rest In Peace, Grant. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends and teammates.