New owner of the Olds Grizzlys, Moe Jamal, and head coach Tyson Soloski, shake hands at the announcement on Wednesday morning at the Olds Sportsplex. (rdnewsNOW/Ian Gustafson)

By Ian Gustafson

A New Era

New ownership group and coaching staff takes over Olds Grizzlys

Apr 2, 2025 | 3:07 PM

A new era has begun in the town of Olds.

On Wednesday morning, the historic Olds Grizzlys franchise of the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) announced a new ownership group has taken the helm, with a new coaching staff to lead the way moving forward.

The good news for the community is the team will be staying in Olds. In fact, the Junior ‘A’ club has a long-term agreement in place with the Town of Olds.

Calgary businessman Moe Jamal is the principal owner and is joined by former NHL player Jay Beagle in a supporting role.

“When the opportunity came about, Jay and I spent a lot of time going through that process and it really became a no-brainer for us from the first meeting we had with the old ownership group,” Jamal said. “In all transparency, we’re new at it but we’re hungry, passionate, and Jay played in this league. There’s a lot of reasons why this fits for us.”

Last seen April 4

Missing: Shelby Dawe, 17, of Red Deer

18h ago

alberta proud of highest rate in canada

Ottawa asked provinces to make AISH top-up exempt, but UCP sticking to its guns in choosing not to do so

21h ago

Better working conditions

Local AUPE members to hold rally on Tuesday in Red Deer

23h ago

Jamal and Beagle also currently own the Calgary International Hockey Academy (CIHA), which is a premier minor hockey development academy with teams in the U15, U17, and U18 levels of the Canadian Sport School Hockey League.

In just two seasons, they won their first league championship title and made it to the final in the U18 Circle K Classic. The CIHA was around for 16 seasons before they took over as owners.

The opportunity to buy the organization came after the former Grizzlys ownership group saw the turnaround the CIHA program was able to make under Jamal’s and Beagle’s leadership. They reached out to the pair to see if their was interest.

“We were happy about it because of the proximity of where our families are. Having young families being anywhere else but in this proximity just wasn’t a starter for us,” he said. “When it was the Olds Grizzlys, we were super excited.”

The Grizzlys were first brought to Olds in 1980 after the Taber Golden Suns were relocated. The Grizzlys’ most dominant years were in the 1990s winning three straight AJHL titles, including a 50-win season in 1993-94.

The franchise was taken over by a new ownership group in 2017 by the Friends of the Grizzlys group. Wednesday marked the end of an era for that group, which was made up by local business owners and former players. They played an important role in the success of the franchise, rescuing it from extinction.

The Grizzlys, however, haven’t made the playoffs since the 2019-20 season, and Jamal hopes to return them to the glory days.

“It hurts my heart a little, both from a player perspective and a town perspective, that this team isn’t where it needs to be and where it should be,” Jamal said.

“The town is supportive but we have to give them a reason to be supportive. We just really haven’t done that here the last few seasons. We’re committed to making sure that’s where we get the team back to. They just deserve so much more and to anyone who will listen, this is not my team, Jay’s team, or anything like that. This is the town’s team and we want to give the town something to be proud of.”

In addition, the organization announced a brand new coaching staff with the exception of assistant coach and Grizzlys alumnus, Mitch Visser, who will continue his role.

The other assistant coach is 34-year-old Dylan Olsen who has a wealth of experience in the AJHL, previously playing for the Camrose Kodiaks, and even making an appearance in the national championship. He also skated in 124 NHL games with the Chicago Blackhawks and Florida Panthers. In coaching, he was the head coach of the U18 Airdrie Stars, and most recently, an assistant coach with the U17 CIHA prep team

Stepping in as head coach is Cochrane’s Tyson Soloski, 32, who most recently led the U18 team at the CIHA.

He helped guide them to a 25-9-2 record and previously led the CIHA U17 team to a CSSHL Championship in the 2023-24 season.

“When Moe first came to me with the opportunity, it was extremely exciting. It’s a goal of mine to coach at this level for a long time and to be able to get that opportunity this year. I couldn’t be more excited,” Soloski said.

Soloski explained that he understands the history of the organization and how much the team means to the community. Priority number one for the coaching staff is to make them competitive once again.

“[We want] people to be proud of the Olds Grizzlys. It’s not ultimately about winning championships, but we want people to be proud the team is here and are doing a good job.”

The work has already begun behind the scenes to prepare for next season. It starts this weekend with a U15 camp, and more planned for the not-too-distant future.

“The Alberta Junior Hockey League and our member clubs are pleased to welcome Jay Beagle and Moe Jamal as the new ownership group of the Olds Grizzlys,” stated AJHL Commissioner Ryan Bartoshyk in a release.

“We are fortunate to integrate their infrastructure and player development experience to provide stability and growth within the community of Olds and look forward to their contributions to the success of our League.”

For local news delivered daily to your email inbox, subscribe for free to the rdnewsNOW newsletter here. You can also download the rdnewsNOW mobile app in the Google Play and the Apple App Stores.