Ottawa-Gatineau’s junior hockey community is in mourning after a local player died in a motorcycle crash this weekend.
Creed Jones, 24, was one of two people killed in the crash late Friday night on Highway 417 in Ottawa, according to Ontario Provincial Police.
Jones was a goalie who played for the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League, the Ontario Junior Hockey League and the Ontario University Athletic Association.
From 2017 to 2021, the Peterborough, Ont., native spent time with the Wellington Dukes, the Gatineau Olympiques, the Rimouski Oceanic and the Saint John Sea Dogs.
He also played the 2021-22 season with the University of Ottawa.
In a statement sent by OPP, Jones’s family extended their condolences to the family of the other motorcyclist, who has not been named.
<a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/OttawaOPP?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#OttawaOPP</a> and <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/OPPTIME?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#OPPTIME</a> are currently on scene with <a href=”https://twitter.com/OttawaPolice?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@OttawaPolice</a> investigating a fatal motorcycle collision on <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/HWY417?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#HWY417</a> WB at <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/HWY416?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#HWY416</a> SB ramp. Hwy 416 SB ramp from Hwy 417 WB currently closed. <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/ottnews?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#ottnews</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/Ottawa_Traffic?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@Ottawa_Traffic</a> ^js <a href=”https://t.co/X1Dwvz3IUc”>pic.twitter.com/X1Dwvz3IUc</a>
—@OPP_ER
‘A tremendous kid’
“It’s difficult to say how much we loved Creed — how much we still love him,” said Serge Beausoleil, the general manager of the Gatineau Olympiques. “He was a tremendous kid.”
Beausoleil said he will remember Jones as smart, talented and someone who was there when he was needed. The two of them were always talking about Jones’s future, he added.
Jones had been coaching younger players before his death through Genesis Goaltending, his own coaching and development company.
Former Olympiques assistant coach Francis Wathier said he was devastated by the loss. The pair worked together during Jones’s first year in Gatineau.
“These kids … they become family,” Wathier said. “His future was bright.”
Police urge caution over long weekend
Friday’s crash, which happened just before midnight near the Highway 416 interchange, was the second of two fatal motorcycle collisions in eastern Ontario last week.
On Wednesday, two motorcycle riders died in a head-on collision with a vehicle in Kingston, Ont.
In the crash that killed Jones, both motorcyclists were travelling at high speeds, OPP said.
The police force said it won’t be able to provide more information about the circumstances of the collision until technical collision investigators and reconstructionists have completed their investigation.
Const. Michael Fathi did say that officers are taking extra steps to monitor roadways during the August long weekend.
“Slow down and take your time,” Fathi said. “That’s the best way for everybody to enjoy the long weekend and get where they need to go safely.”