Hometown boy Chase Olsen shared this year's Most Valuable Player trophy with forward Landon Gross of Pincher Creek during the Grizzlys' end-of-year awards banquet, held last Friday (April 21) at the Evergreen Centre.
"I think we had a hell of a hockey season," said head coach Dana Lattery as he opened the evening. "The growth that I saw in players from when they came in to where they are now, I'm proud of each and every one of them."
Lattery said that while he didn't reach the same statistical heights as he had the season before, that led to a lot of growth for Olsen and helped him develop as a "full hockey player."
"What probably a lot of you already know about Chase, if you spent a few minutes with him, is that he is contagious," said Lattery during the presentation. "And that he makes his team better just from being there."
Lattery said he remembered recruiting players at the beginning of last season who had played with Olsen before.
"They were so excited to play for the Grizzlys, not because of me and (assistant coach) Jeramie (Heistad), but because Chase Olsen was their captain," said Lattery. "To me that exemplifies one of your most valuable players."
Olsen was pleased to be in the spotlight with Gross.
"It's awesome to share that with a teammate," said Olsen. "We have so many leaders and so many great players on the team; that you can't just pick one player."
As he opened the evening, Lattery said he remembered sitting there as a player 20 years earlier, in the same building, doing the same thing.
"I think it's pretty cool, the tradition that we have here," he said, noting it's the Grizzlys' 35th season. "We're going to do the same thing every year. We're going to celebrate our season, our success."
A big thank you went out to the tremendous number of volunteers and supporters, many of whom were present: volunteer assistant coaches, local radio announcers, medical support staff, parents, billets, fans and sponsors.
"People who allow us to operate, allow us to function, allow these kids to follow their dreams of one day hopefully playing in the NHL," said Lattery, "if not be a really good beer league player. Because eventually that's where we all end up."
In keeping up with tradition, the team also auctioned off their older jerseys, modelled by their owners one last time, and raised almost $6,000 in the process.
Lattery paid tribute to the four 20-year-olds who will age out of junior hockey this year and leave the team: Landon Gross (Pincher Creek); James Gaume (Red Deer); Austin Holmes (Calgary); and goalie Ben Giesbrecht (Aldergrove, B.C.). Lattery said all four are looking at college options, and would be making decisions sometime in the next month.
The awards banquet kicked off a weekend-long spring recruiting camp, which included an alumni game on Saturday evening. Safe to say, the Grizzlys won.
AWARDS
Scholastic Award
Matthew Holzer (Sturgeon County)
Tammy Moritz Memorial Community Player of the Year
Quentin Greenwood (Red Deer)
Top Scorer
Ryley Smith (Huxley, Alta.)
Myrl Goddard Most Dedicated Player
James Gaume (Red Deer)
Most Improved
Andrew Henderson (Maple Ridge, B.C.)
Austin Holmes (Calgary)
Bob Hill Memorial Award
Dr. Michael Lentz (Team Chiropractor)
Most Valuable Playoff Player
Ben Giesbrecht (Aldergrove, B.C.)
Rookie of the Year
Jared Power (Calgary)
Top Defenseman
Austin Pickford (Leduc)
Most Valuable Player
Chase Olsen (Olds)
Landon Gross (Pincher Creek)
"We have so many leaders and so many great players on the team; that you can't just pick one player."CHASE OLSEN CO-WINNERMOST VALUABLE PLAYER TROPHY
