OLDS — The Olds Grizzlys have now had some time to get used to their Grizzlys Den in its new location.
The Den, a facility where the players train, hang out, view game videos, and more Is now located behind the Eye Wearhouse on the north side of Highway 27.
The junior A hockey team began moving in there on Jan. 31 after their former location on 50th Street near 50th Avenue was sold. They had been there for about a year.
Grizzlys secretary-treasurer Nikki Grover says the club is thrilled with the new space. Some officials have estimated it to be about 3,000 square feet.
The facility, shared with Olds Minor Hockey, is being used for a variety of things, including off-ice training, reviewing game video team meetings or functions as well as team meals.
There’s a board room and a space for coaches to do their work and meet with players or others.
It features a party room/player’s lounge with a kitchen and space for minor hockey or others to hold birthday parties.
“Cowling Homes has given us a great opportunity to be able to build from new,” Grover said. “It’s just a good deal.”
Grover said the concept called for the flooring to be specially made so that minor hockey coaches can use it to work on player positioning.
She said they will prove very useful.
“When they start, up until the tyke and novice, they play half-ice hockey and they only get half-ice practices.
And and at the atom level, because we have an ice shortage in Olds, they practice half-ice a lot of the time,” Grover said.
"Once they get to the atom level, they’re playing full-ice games, but they don’t know what an offside is and stuff like that.”
She said the surface also works for fun team-building games like playing hockey with mini-sticks.
“The little kids love it just as much as the junior A players,” she said with a laugh.
Grover said the Grizzlys Den and its predecessor in Uptowne were desperately needed because the Sportsplex just doesn’t have enough room for those functions.
“It doesn’t help us with recruitment, that’s for sure. I guess towns like Blackfalds and Brooks, who attract high-end players, they have brand new, beautiful, big, huge facilities,” she said.
Grover said Grizzlys players and officials are excited about their new facility but said to leave Uptowne.
"We really liked participating in all the Uptowne Olds activities, like the Halloween trick-or-treating, Midnight Madness,” she said.
“We tried to find something in Uptowne Olds and there just wasn’t anything that was big enough for what we were looking to accomplish.
“There’s other things that we’ll still participate in, like the Summer Oldstice and the Coffee, Kombucha and Classic Cars (event). We set up road hockey with the Grizzlys and we’ll continue to do those things.
“But it is different than being right downtown where it just seems like the people are and the action is. Like, nobody walks over in this industrial area.”
Defenceman Tristan Bauming is among the Grizzlys who are excited about the new facility.
“It’s probably one of the best in the league, to be honest,” he said. “There’s more room for you to do different types of exercises and lots of variety of exercises.”
Bauming also likes the player’s lounge.
“Us players can hang out together and bond together as a team more,” he said.
Grizzlys board member Mike Muzychka noted the new facility was made available by Rick Cowling and his team at Coldwell Banker.
"He has leased them at an incredible rate,” Muzychka said, adding that on top of that, several tradespeople and contractors donated their labour to create the facility. Grover praised G & G Developments, saying they worked non-stop on it.
When they began the project, “it was basically just a square block with a concrete floor,” he said.
Darcy Dallas, another Grizzlys board board member and former team president, also likes the new space.
“It’s just something that helps keep the team here in town,” he said. “Helps out with our team building. Great for team morale. Very few teams in the AJHL (Alberta Junior Hockey League) have this, so it’s good.”
Olds Minor Hockey Association president Rich McDonald said it will really help with team building and instruction for their organization as well.
