Jimmy Oligny named Moose 2023-24 IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year

The Manitoba Moose, in conjunction with the American Hockey League, are proud to announce Jimmy Oligny is the Moose winner of the IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year award for his outstanding contributions to the community during the 2023-24 season.

Oligny, 30, was previously recognized by the American Hockey League with the 2023 Yanick Dupré Memorial Award as the league's Man of the Year.  This is Oligny's fifth career nomination for the award and fourth in the past five seasons.

The St. Michel, Que. product suffered a substantial injury eight games into the regular season and has worked tirelessly to get back into playing shape. Despite months of intense injury rehab and still not being able to return to game action, Oligny remains steadfast in his commitment to the Winnipeg community.

Oligny began the 2023-24 season by continuing the program he started the previous season alongside the Kinship and Foster Family Network of Manitoba. The organization provides kinship and foster parents with training, guidance, and assistance to enhance their capacities, knowledge, and skills to provide quality care. As part of his program, Oligny hosts a foster family at Manitoba Moose home games. The children and their caregivers receive a Moose swag bag and tickets to the game. They also meet with Oligny after the game concludes.

Oligny is a strong supporter of True North Youth Foundation's Project 11. He made multiple school appearances on behalf of Project 11. The defenceman spoke to children in attendance about mental health and general wellness. He spoke at the annual Jets Gala, an event that raised nearly $300,000 for True North Youth Foundation to improve the quality of lives of underserved youth in Manitoba. Additionally, Oligny participated in videos in both English and French for the team’s two Project 11 School Day Games. The 30-year-old explained his coping mechanisms for dealing with stressful situations and general mindfulness for the thousands of students in attendance. Oligny also attended the Project 11 Summit to speak with students and answer questions about mental health and wellness.

Additionally, the father of three opened the season by speaking at the Hope to Dream open house at Camp Manitou and attended an event at Motionball, where he helped empower young Canadians to be leaders in their communities. Oligny volunteered his time with his teammates at Siloam Mission’s drop-in centre by sorting clothing donations. Oligny also dedicated time to the Moose Hockey Fights Cancer campaign. The defenceman signed Moose mystery pucks that were sold on the concourse with proceeds benefitting Camp Quality Manitoba. As part of the team’s Stick to Reading initiative, Oligny, alongside teammate Jeffrey Viel, attended Ecole Tache to spend time reading to students and answering their questions.

Oligny is now one of 32 finalists for the AHL’s 2023-24 Yanick Dupré Memorial Award, honouring the overall IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year. The league award is named after the former Hershey Bears forward and AHL All-Star who died in 1997 following a 16-month battle with leukemia. The winner of the Yanick Dupré Memorial Award will be announced by the American Hockey League later this month.

The Moose take on the Iowa Wild at Canada Life Centre on Saturday, April 13. Puck drop is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT. It's the Mascot Palooza game and a plush Mick E. Moose toy will be available for the first 3,000 fans in attendance.

Tickets to all upcoming Moose home games are available at MooseHockey.com/TICKETS.

You can catch the game on CJOB.com/sports the Winnipeg Jets App or AHLTV.