OLDS — With the Olds Grizzlys rookie camp done and main camp underway, the 2025-26 Alberta Junior Hockey League season is not far behind, starting Friday, Sept. 19.
The rookie camp ran from Aug. 22 to 24 and the main camp began on Aug. 25.
The five-game exhibition season runs from Aug. 30-Sept. 13.
The team opens the 54-game regular season on the road Sept. 19 versus the Thunder in Drayton Valley.
Their home-opener will be held the next night, Sept. 20, against the Camrose Kodiaks. Game time is 7 p.m. at the Sportsplex.
Not long afterward, the Grizzlys will head to Spruce Grove for the Surge Energy AJHL Showcase, which will run from Sept. 25-27. That annual tournament gives scouts an opportunity to check out the league’s talent.
Grizzlys head coach Tyson Soloski says he and Moe Jamal, the team’s new GM and president, have spent the summer figuring out how to make the team more competitive this year.
“I think we've addressed some of our concerns that maybe we had early in the summer, and we think we're in a really good place coming into training camp here at the end of August,” Soloski said during an interview with the Albertan.
“We've signed a few players that we think will be able to fit in well within our organization and do well for us this year and be a big part of the team over the next three or four seasons.
“And then we've actually done a pretty good job of kind of identifying a few players from other junior teams across Western Canada and made a few trades for a few players that are a bit older, closer to the 19-year-old range for the most part.
“We think they're going to be able to fill in some holes that the roster might have had last year. And we're pretty excited to see what we can do with training camp starting here soon and then into the exhibition season.”
Soloski said the biggest need he and Jamal identified was to obtain players who will bring a competitive drive to the team.
“We kind of targeted some guys that can kind of fit that identity, whether that's a little bit of skill, a little bit of grit. And the biggest thing probably is just competitiveness, just how hard they compete on the ice,” Soloski said.
“Those are the big things that we were identifying and we think we've done a good job making the team more competitive, coming into the season.”
The Grizzlys open the exhibition season Aug. 30 in Calgary versus the Canucks, the league champs.
In fact, they’ll face the Canucks twice in a row, with the second half of that home-and-home series occurring the next night, Aug. 31, at home in the Sportsplex.
“Obviously, playing the defending Centennial Cup Champions is going to be a tough challenge early and I think we're excited about it,” Soloski said.
“I think it's a good way to get a benchmark of where we're going to sit in the league and what we're going to need to improve on throughout the season to kind of get to that standard in the AJHL.
“We're super excited to get to play them twice early and kind of see what it's like, especially with a bunch of new faces coming into play.”
The series will also be a good test for the Grizzlys rookies.
“It's definitely a great opportunity, just kind of to get introduced to the league and see what it's all about, right from the get-go,” Soloski said.
Soloski said the fact the team opens the season on the road in Drayton Valley is a good thing, in that it’ll enable the players to “get away and just focus on the hockey that needs to be played and how we want to play.”
Soloski said the home-opener the next night will be “exciting.”
“Hopefully we get some good community support for that game,” he said. “We're super excited just to get started.”
Including the home-opener, the Grizzlys are in the friendly confines of the Sportsplex for four straight games in the regular season before heading out on the road.
Soloski said that’ll be a good opportunity to get some practice time in “and not have to worry about travel and whatnot” as well as “just get into the flow of the season.”
“It's a good League, and we know we're going to have to play really well to try to earn some wins,” he said.
The assistant coaches and their duties were also sorted out over the summer.
Dylan Olson will run the defence and look after the penalty kill.
Soloski and Mitch Visser will work together on the forwards and the team’s power play units.
“Whether it's on the home at home or on the road, we're just excited to play some hockey games,” he said.
