B.C.'s hockey community has been shaken by news of a fatal crash in Saskatchewan involving a bus that was carrying a junior hockey team to a playoff game.

As names of the deceased emerge, family members and former coaches in the province with ties to the Humboldt Broncos are sharing how kind and dedicated team members were to their sport.

The players were travelling to the sixth game of their league's semi-final series when a transport truck broadsided their bus on a rural Saskatchewan highway. Fifteen team members, including players, coaches and other staff, were killed. Fourteen others were sent to hospital.

Head coach Darcy Haugan is among the dead. He leaves behind a wife and two young sons.

"He was one of those people who was a friend to everybody," Haugan's uncle, Gerald Haugan, told CTV News from Kamloops.

"He loved teaching them and building his team up," he continued. "He took it very seriously."

Jaxon Joseph, a 20-year-old Broncos player, also died in the crash. The forward from Alberta used to play for the Surrey Eagles during their 2015-16 season.

"He was a guy that had a genuine smile," Surrey Eagles coach Blaine Neufeld said. "Every day he came to the rink his energy was positive."

"He did things the right way," Neufeld continued. "He was a true, true teammate in every sense of the word."

Humboldt officials provided an update at an emotional press conference on Saturday. Kevin Garinger, the Broncos team president, said the tight-knight community of 6,000 will persevere and honour the souls that were lost.

"We will never forget the members of our Broncos family who were taken from us and who were injured," he said. "This is a moment when we must come together to support, to comfort and to lean on one another."

On Friday, the town of Humboldt was preparing for a big game. Now, it finds itself mourning the loss of 15 Broncos.

"Everybody's distraught. The whole hockey community will grieve this for a long time," Bob Beatty, the Broncos' former head coach, said from Vancouver Island.

The community, though, will face the tragedy together. Donations to a GoFundMe campaign have poured in, and by Saturday evening $2 million had been raised.

Hockey moms in B.C. are organizing a national wear-your-jersey day on April 12 to show the victims' families they aren't alone. Prominent NHL players and world leaders have also expressed their sympathies.

"We're all in it together," Beatty said. "We're all thinking of them….and the tragedy that's happened."

With a report from CTV Vancouver's Ben Miljure