SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League announced today that Manitoba Moose defenseman and captain Jimmy Oligny has been selected as the winner of the Yanick Dupré Memorial Award for 2022-23.
This award has been presented annually since 1998 to an AHL player for his outstanding contributions to his local community and charitable organizations. The Yanick Dupré Memorial Award winner is selected by the AHL and representatives from IOA and American Specialty from among 32 individual team Man of the Year honorees.
Oligny, a four-time recipient of his team’s IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year honor (three in Manitoba, one in Milwaukee), increased his involvement with the Winnipeg community this season by creating a unique program in conjunction with the Kinship and Foster Family Network of Manitoba, a non-profit organization that provides kinship, adoptive and foster parents with training, guidance and assistance to enhance the quality of life for children in their care. As part of the program, Oligny hosts a foster family at Moose home games, providing them with tickets meeting with them after the game.
While working tirelessly to return to the lineup following an off-season injury, Oligny remained steadfast in his commitment to the community. He spoke at the Winnipeg Jets Fan Fest in September, and joined teammates in visiting an early learning classroom at St. Amant, which supports Manitobans with developmental disabilities, autism and acquired brain injury. He volunteered with meal preparation in the kitchen at Siloam Mission; read to elementary students at Balmoral Hall School; interacted with fans at Assiniboine Park Zoo; and helped with the Moose’s Hockey Fights Cancer campaign by signing pucks that were sold to benefit Camp Quality Canada, which works to improve the quality of life for children living with cancer and their families.
Oligny is also a major supporter of the True North Youth Foundation. He spoke at the annual Jets Gala, an event that raised nearly $300,000 to support underserved youth in Manitoba. He also worked with TNYF’s Project 11, fielding students’ mental wellness questions in both English and French, for the Moose Project 11 School Day Game. The native of St-Michel, Que., also visited École Héritage Immersion to speak with students there about mental health and wellness.
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.
In operation since 1936, the American Hockey League continues to serve as the top development league for all 32 National Hockey League teams. Nearly 90 percent of all players competing in the NHL are AHL graduates, and through the years the American Hockey League has been home to more than 100 honored members of the Hockey Hall of Fame.
