Grizzlys on 'life support' but alive for now

It's been a wild week for the Olds Grizzlys franchise, first with the unexpected threat of being sidelined by the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) for next season, followed by an ad hoc town hall meeting last Wednesday (May 24) that drew together two local groups of interested investors.

By Thursday, the Grizzlys' board had accepted a purchase offer, and on Friday evening, the league gave a conditional stamp of approval, tentatively keeping the Grizzlys alive for the 2017-18 season.

The offer of purchase comes from a combined group, who will establish a not-for-profit organization called "Friends of the Grizzlys" to take over operations of the franchise.

The driving forces behind the group include businessman Jeff Atkinson and Grizzly alumnus Mike van Tetering, both firefighters in Calgary; along with former NHLer Jason Jaffray, a pro hockey player who grew up and lives in Olds when he's not playing for Red Bull Munich in the European leagues.

Atkinson and van Tetering, who represent a group of alumni, had already approached the Grizzlys' board, while Jaffray came forward at the town hall meeting to express interest on behalf of some local business owners.

Jaffray said that the two groups didn't know the other existed until the town hall meeting, at which point they decided to join forces.

"Nobody is here to become owner of the Olds Grizzlys," said Jaffray. "At the end of the day, nobody cares who the owner is as long as we have the right business plan in place and we can keep this team in place. That's the main motivation."

The trio successfully pitched their business plan to the franchise's board of directors on Thursday, defeating a purchase offer on the table from an Edmonton-based group, who would have paid off the debts but only guaranteed to keep the Grizzlys in Olds for three years.

On Friday evening, they met with the AJHL's management committee to present their proposal, an effort that managed to keep the Grizzlys' future from being voted on at the league's annual general meeting Saturday morning (May 27).

But this does not put an end to the franchise's wild week.

"The Olds Grizzlys are still on life support – they are not saved," said Jaffray. "The next two weeks are going to be critical in whether or not this is going to happen."

AJHL EXTENSION

What the new ownership group got from the AJHL amounts to an extension – the league wants the debt paid off, and it wanted that by Friday, said Jaffray.

"We went there and we pitched our three-year business plan, our vision of how we can make this organization work," said Jaffray. "All we did was get through the first step of being able to move that day from Friday – they gave us another month."

That's a month to prove to the AJHL that the team is back to even ground, he said, which means getting the legal paperwork filed, raising remaining funds and paying the bills.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Essentially, while the business plan has satisfied the AJHL for now, it has to be executed. This isn't a matter of a new owner coming in and single-handedly paying off the debt.

"We are going to need community support, largely, to even think about making that happen," said Jaffrey. "Everybody can have a great business plan, but if you are $300,000 in debt before you start, well, you're not going anywhere."

Jaffray credits Atkinson with giving the pitch to the AJHL's management committee last Friday evening, saying he's the visionary behind the new ownership group.

"He's got a great head on his shoulders, he's a great businessman, they (Atkinson and van Tetering) are both," said Jaffray. "They bring a professionalism to the Olds Grizzlys that I think everybody has kinda been waiting for and wanting."

TOO EARLY STILL

With the turnaround happening over the weekend, the new group is still ironing out details, finalizing who exactly is coming on board financially, and what the numbers look like, as well as how they will engage the community quickly to make up the difference. Atkinson said a detailed press release will be available in the coming days.

"We're very excited to get the information out there, but we want to make sure it's pretty clear and concise," said Atkinson. "There's still plenty of opportunity for people to be involved and engaged and help out."

While Aktinson said this is all positive, he didn't mince words.

"If everybody thinks the team is saved, they are wrong," he said. "We are not out of the woods yet."