Moose Captain Jimmy Oligny wins AHL's Yanick Dupre Memorial Award

WINNIPEG, May 4, 2023 - The Manitoba Moose Hockey Club, in conjunction with the American Hockey League, is proud to announce Jimmy Oligny is the winner of the 2022-23 Yanick Dupré Memorial Award.

The Yanick Dupré Memorial Award has been presented annually since 1998 to an AHL player for his outstanding contributions to his local community and charitable organizations. The award winner is selected by the AHL and representatives from IOA and American Specialty from among 32 individual team Man of the Year honourees.

This was the second consecutive season Oligny, 30, was nominated as his team's IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year, and the fourth time in his AHL career between Manitoba (three times) and Milwaukee (once). Oligny is the second Moose player to win the Yanick Dupré Memorial Award after Jimmy Roy won in 2003. The Moose are the seventh team in AHL history to have two players honoured with the award.

Oligny created a new program in conjunction with the Kinship and Foster Family Network of Manitoba. Kinship and Foster Family Network of Manitoba provides training, guidance and assistance for kinship and foster parents to enhance their capacities, knowledge and skills to provide quality care. As part of the program, Oligny hosted foster families at Moose home games. The foster children and their caregivers received Moose merchandise, tickets to the game and met with Oligny post-game.

Oligny is a frequent supporter of the True North Youth Foundation (TNYF). He spoke at the annual Jets Gala, an event that raised nearly $300,000 to support underserved youth in Manitoba. The St. Michel, Que. native worked with TNYF's Project 11, fielding students' mental wellness questions in both English and French, for the Moose Project 11 School Day Game. Oligny also traveled to École Héritage Immersion in St. Pierre-Jolys, Man. to speak with students about mental health.

While working tirelessly to return to the Moose lineup following a significant off-season injury, Oligny remained steadfast in his commitment to the community. The Moose captain opened the season speaking to supporters at Winnipeg Jets Fan Fest. He went on to spend time at a St.Amant autism early learning classroom, served breakfast at Siloam Mission and read to elementary students at Balmoral Hall School. The father of three helped raise funds for Camp Quality Manitoba by signing Moose mystery pucks to be sold at the team's annual Hockey Fights Cancer game. He also visited Assiniboine Park Zoo, along with teammates in January, to interact with fans. Finally, Oligny met with the puck drop participants from Manitoba's Pride Game to learn about their individual programs and how they're making a difference in the 2SLGBTQ+ community.

The AHL's annual Man of the Year award is named after the late Yanick Dupré, who passed away in 1997 at the age of 24 following a 16-month battle with leukemia. A second round draft pick of the Philadelphia Flyers in 1991, Dupré played four seasons in the AHL with the Hershey Bears and was an AHL All-Star in 1995.

The Moose continue their Central Division Semifinals series against the Admirals in Milwaukee on Friday, May 5 at 7 p.m. CT. The Moose currently lead the best-of-five series by a 2-1 margin.