(Photo by Adam Beukeboom)

By Jordan Rein

Sundre artist designs Olds Grizzlys skate wraps for 24/25 season

Aug 9, 2024 | 11:56 AM

A Sundre artist has been commissioned to design special decorative skate wraps for the Olds Grizzlys hockey team of the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) .

Adam Beukeboom, who spends summers in Sundre, not only does skate wraps and other decals from his Olds business location, but he’s also a hockey player himself, currently playing the position of goaltender in Germany.

Beukeboom says the enterprise began several years ago when he began using his artistic ability to airbrush helmets and goalie masks. After some of his creations were shared online, the requests began to trickle in from around the world from others who wanted custom gear.

As he discovered, Beukeboom says custom skate wraps for players had untapped potential.

“We joke that players are kind of jealous of goalies who have ability to customize all their gear, and players are kind of stuck with nothing,” says Beukeboom. “Once it became an option, a lot of people reached out with some good ideas.”

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Manager of Business Operations for the Olds Grizzlys, Kevin Watson, says the idea for the Grizzlys organization came after he had a chance conversation with Adam’s father who showed him a pictures of a prototype skate wrap his son had been working on.

Watson says the Grizzlys have never had skate wraps before, and it’s something he had to clear with the team’s governing body.

“That was my first phone call after talking with Adam, was to get ahold of the league and see if we actually could do it,” says Watson. “They gave us the blessing that we could.”

The AJHL also allows sponsor logos on jerseys, helmets and pants, says Watson, with certain regulations on how large the logo is and where it can be located.

Fans will see the skate wraps make their debut during the upcoming 2024/2025 Olds Grizzlys season, which Watson says is coming up fast.

“We have a brand new head coach, Peter Schaefer, who played over 500 games in the NHL, he’s bringing his expertise and connections to the team” says Watson. “Excited for the new staff and lots of new players coming in.”

Since he’s still playing hockey in Europe, Beukeboom says he’s taking things relatively slow with the skate wraps. He says he hopes to start with the Grizzlys, and perhaps one day expand to more teams in the AJHL.

Beukeboom adds, it’s a huge blessing to be able to combine art and hockey- two of his biggest passions.

“I just turned 30 this year so, as I get older I’ll have something else to keep me busy once I start to wind hockey down,” says Beukeboom. “It’s a natural progression.”

Beukeboom’s hockey career has taken him all across the world. The goaltender says he’s spent time with the Drumheller Dragons of the AJHL, the Regina Pats and Prince George Cougars of the WHL, the Flin Flon Bombers of the SJHL. Following his junior career, he says he played university level, as well as overseas in Serbia, Iceland, and now Germany.

“It’s been quite a ride.”

The Grizzlys’ training camp begins Aug. 23, with the annual Black & Gold game to follow Aug. 25.

Following the preseason, the regular season home opener is Friday Sept. 13.

Skate wrap design by Beukeboom for Adendorf, Germany hockey club. (Photo by Adam Beukeboom)

Adam Beukeboom in full goalie gear. (Photo by Adam Beukeboom)