Slain Winnipeg teen being honoured across Canada by youth hockey group

A national mentor-based hockey organization that helps marginalized youth through the sport is paying tribute to one of its members and youngest coaches.

Hockey sticks tapped the ice nine times at Winnipeg's Seven Oaks Arena on Tuesday as players with the Hockey Education Reaching Out Society — or HEROS — paid tribute to Trey Basarowich, who wore the number 9 on his jersey.

The 16-year-old died in hospital after he was found shot on Boyd Avenue near Andrews Street on Oct. 5, 2024. Two teenage boys and a man face second-degree murder charges in connection with the incident.

"Trey left a legacy … our responsibility to him is to carry that legacy," said Kevin Hodgson, executive director of HEROS.

"[He] was such a special person, was so unique, but in so many ways represented so many of our HEROS."

HEROS gives at-risk youth a positive outlet to connect on and off of the ice. Since being established in 2000, the organization has helped roughly 18,000 young people through programs in nine cities across Canada, including Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary and Winnipeg.

This month, more than 800 participants in 28 different programs nationwide have received hoodies with the letter "T" on the sleeve.

Hodgson says he wants Trey to be remembered for what he did for other people, rather than for the violence that took him away.

"Trey was defined by so much more and so many people that he mattered to … he was making our kids' world a better place and he was making the community a better place."

Hodgson said Trey started with HEROS when he was in Grade 4. Early on, the young hockey player expressed interest in stepping up to a leadership role, he said.

Ashley Basarowich, Trey's mother, recalled her son jumping at the opportunity to coach and mentor other young people.

"[The kids] all thought he was so great and so good, and so he wanted to teach them just how to be the same as him — or better," she said.

Basarowich remembers her son as a kind soul — "the type of person who could make anyone feel loved and seen, and inspired them to be the better version of themselves," she said.

Whenever she was upset, Trey would reassure her by saying, "If it wasn't meant to be, then it wouldn't be happening," she said.

Basarowich said she had never thought about a nationwide tribute to her son, saying she did not realize how much of an impact Trey had on others.

"He would be ecstatic," she said. "I could see him now, just laughing and joking."

Was 'always a good hero,' says friend

Jordan Kirton, who joined HEROS in the same year as Trey, says he's "family" to her. She led Tuesday's tribute to him on the ice at Seven Oaks Arena.

"We both grew in the program, we practise every day together," the 18-year-old said.

Kirton says she's happy she got to call Trey her best friend. She described him as someone who could make you laugh at any time, but was also there when you needed him.

"He was always a good hero outside hockey as much as he was inside hockey," she said.

Kirton, who is now a mentor with HEROS, also wears the number 9 on her jersey. She said it allows her to carry his memory forward.

"If I'm on the ice and I'm wearing the number, I know he's skating with me, and that always gives me a push and makes me want to do better."