The Alberta Junior Hockey League has taken notice of the performance of a 6’4 defenceman from Anmore, B.C.
Tristan Taylor (2004) from the Olds Grizzlys has been named the Alberta Ford Dealers AJHL Defensive Player of the Week.
Taylor had three assists to help the Grizzlys beat Bonnyville 5-4 in a shootout last Friday and then he and the rest of the team had another strong defensive performance in a 2-1 shootout victory over Devon on Saturday.
Grizzlys Head Coach Brad Tobin points out that it is great to see their team and Taylor to be recognized by the league. He says “yeah, huge. He definitely deserves it. You know, he works his tail off every game, game in, game out. Plays some big, big minutes for us. For him to obviously get on the scoresheet with the three assists is great for him. Helps his confidence. Yeah, just for him he knows he can obviously be one of those guys stepping up and getting those points when we need him.”
Taylor is the first member of the Grizzlys to earn player of the week honours since goaltender Aidan Fischer was named the Alberta Ford Dealers Defensive Player of the Week from September 23rd through the 29th.
Taylor has had two separate games since coming to Olds via a trade with the SJHL’s Kindersley Klippers in October where he has put up three points in a game. He had a game-tying goal plus two assists in a 5-4 shootout win over Camrose on October 5th in just his second game as a Grizzly. Overall, Taylor has 2 goals and 8 helpers for 10 points in 26 AJHL games with Olds in 2024-2025. He has added 50 minutes in penalties as well.
Meanwhile, the Canalta Hotels AJHL Player of the Week is Jack Plandowski (2005) from the Calgary Canucks and the Inter Pipeline AJHL Rookie of the Week is Nolan DuPont (2006) also from the Calgary Canucks. Plandowski had two goals and four assists in two victories for the Canucks, while DuPont was right alongside him putting up two goals and three assists.
