SASKATOON -- Melfort Mustang Dylan Ashe is being remembered for his quiet wit and being a team player.
The 18-year-old died Sunday morning when his vehicle rolled northeast of White Fox, Sask.
Dylan’s mom Della Ashe says, her son touched a lot of people and hearing the stories about him over the past day has given her some small comfort.
“I knew what kind of person he was and hearing all the stories it makes me realize that person was the same person to everybody else,” Ashe told CTV News in a phone interview.
She says the accounts of Dylan’s conduct with his team stand out.
“In the dressing room and on the bench he was very quiet, but then he’d give this little grin and give a witty comment. He was not the centre of attention. He would sit back and he was a team guy."
Dylan played minor hockey in Warman and moved up the ranks, playing with the Tisdale Trojans for two years and was on the team that played in the Telus Cup and won the bronze medal.
He then moved to the SJHL last year with the Melfort Mustangs. He was a Lethbridge Hurricanes prospect and was going to be training with them this year also, according to his mom.
“He was gentle and loving and his passions were hockey and rebuilding his 1984 Chevy truck.”
He was not driving the truck at the time of his accident as it was getting fixed, she said.
Teammate and fellow billet, Seth McCulloch started with the Mustangs at the same time as Dylan last year and says the team is starting practices this Thursday and this season will be dedicated to Dylan who he will remember as a funny guy.
“Dylan loved hockey and it’s going to help get everyone on the ice and get busy again and take our minds off of it a bit. It’s going to drive us to win and do good for him,” McCulloch told CTV News.
A GoFundMe page was set up to help with funeral costs and it has more than doubled its goal already which is a response that doesn’t surprise his mom.
“Hockey is family and you realize how many families from the past, how many coaches from the past and how many teammates that he kept in contact with.”
The Melfort Mustangs shared condolences for his family on Twitter.
“From our entire organization, we would like to send our deepest sympathies and condolences to the Ashe family. You are in our thoughts and prayers,” the team said.
