The Victoria Grizzlies’ 2024-25 season was one to remember. The team celebrated their 30th anniversary season, and for several games, the Grizzlies wore a special Victoria Salsa jersey.
The team also went on a deep playoff run. For the first time since 2019, the Grizzlies advanced to the Coastal Conference Finals.
This season saw a new trend emerge in the organization. The team saw more frequent roster turnover than in past seasons. The team also saw its head coach and general manager take a leave of absence for personal reasons.
This article covers the Grizzlies’ 2024-25 season. I’ll start by examining the roster turnover. I will also dive into changes within the organization.
More frequent roster changes
Throughout the 2024-25 season, Grizzlies head coach and general manager Rylan Ferster continually altered the roster. In past seasons, Ferster would’ve made a few trades, but the 2024-25 season saw him make several trades and sign several players.
It started before the regular season began. Oscar Pantzare and Tyler Hodges joined the team before Victoria’s two-game opening weekend in Powell River. Both left the Grizzlies a few months later.
After Oliver Auyeung-Ashton got injured in late September, Hodges became the Grizzlies’ starting goalie. When Auyeung-Ashton came back a month later, Hodges stayed with the team, but then Victoria signed Kyle Kelsey in mid-November. Hodges left for the Ontario Junior Hockey League in early December.
Ferster saw the opportunity to bring Kelsey back to Victoria and took it. Before returning, Kelsey gained experience from playing two seasons in the Western Hockey League. He started the 2024-25 season in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.
The Grizzlies were also busy around the Feb. 10 BCHL roster deadline, making three deals. They acquired Will Schumacher, Georgios Stavrianeas, and future considerations from the Vernon Vipers for Ryan Watt and Finn Kallay. The Grizz then flipped Stavrianeas to Penticton for the BCHL rights to Julien Wasmer.
Victoria also picked up Max Silver from Cranbrook for the BCHL rights to Tyson Moss. These moves were to prepare the team for a championship run.
Like other teams in the BCHL, Victoria lost players to major junior teams after the NCAA rules changed in November. Garrett Frazer played nine games with the Grizzlies before joining the Ontario Hockey League’s Erie Otters. Carter Hynes left the Grizzlies for the Québec Remparts of the Québec Maritimes Junior Hockey League.
New owners
During last year’s off-season, Keycorp Sports & Entertainment bought a majority stake in the Grizzlies and subsequently sold its ownership portion of the Alberni Valley Bulldogs and Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League’s Port Alberni Bombers.
Keycorp is a company run by Jim Hartshorne, who owned the WHL’s Victoria Cougars from 1980 to 1989. He is also the current owner of the Western Lacrosse Association’s Victoria Shamrocks. David Michaud is Hartshorne’s business partner and serves as the Grizzlies’ team president. He had the same role with the Bulldogs when Keycorp owned them.
The 30th anniversary
The Grizzlies celebrated their 30th anniversary season with an alternate jersey, inspired by the Victoria Salsa. They used the muscular pepper logo from the Salsa’s later years. It is the logo worn by Salsa legends Jordan Sigalet, Kyle Greentree, plus brothers Jordie and Jamie Benn.
The jersey unveiling saw former Salsa player Trevor McCall participate in a ceremonial puck drop. Victoria won the game 5-2 against the Chilliwack Chiefs.
Scoring by committee
The Grizzlies had nine players who notched more than 20 points, and nine players scored 10 goals or more.
Victoria’s top scorer was Chase Pirtle, who had 25 goals and 39 assists in 54 games. A dozen points behind Pirtle was Reegan Hiscock. In 54 games, he posted 27 goals and 25 assists.
Pirtle and Hiscock were the only players to score more than 20 goals. Tom Molson was close at 18, but finished second on the team with 31 assists and third with 49 points. Tobias Pitka tallied 15 goals and 38 points.
Victoria had several offensive weapons on their roster, and the Grizzlies finished eighth in the BCHL in goals-for. The 2024-25 version of the team could score by committee, which is something Victoria struggled a bit with in previous seasons.
Auyeung-Ashton’s final season
After three seasons with Victoria, Auyeung-Ashton has moved on to the NCAA. He’ll play for the Northern Michigan University Wildcats hockey team this fall.
It’s not hyperbole to say Auyeung-Ashton is one of the greatest goaltenders in team history. He belongs in the same conversation with Sigalet and Matthew Galajda among Victoria’s all-time greats between the pipes.
He finishes his Grizzlies’ career first in wins, shutouts, and games played among goaltenders. Auyeung-Ashton is also in the franchise’s top 20 in all-time goals-against average and save percentage.
Time will tell where Auyeung-Ashton ends up. He’s good enough to go pro, so we’ll see where he ends up after college at Colgate University.
Rylan Ferster’s exit
In mid-March, Ferster took a leave of absence from the Grizzlies for personal reasons. The team released a brief statement about Ferster stepping away. At the time, Geoff Grimwood took over as interim head coach and general manager.
Ferster was in the third year of his second tenure with Victoria. He took over from former Grizzlies head coach and general manager Craig Didmon in 2022. In his first tenure with Victoria from 2004 to 2007, Ferster was the Salsa’s final head coach and the Grizzlies’ first head coach.
Grimwood coached the Grizzlies for the remainder of the 2024-25 season and during their playoff run that ended in the Coastal Conference Final against Chilliwack. In May, Ferster and the Grizzlies mutually parted ways. A few days later, the team promoted Grimwood to the role of head coach and general manager.
Next season
The Grizzlies are already preparing for next season. In February, the team signed goaltender Paolo Frasca to the roster. His signing is something I wrote about in a previous article.
They also acquired Shane Burns from Vernon as future considerations from the Feb. 10 trade involving Schumacher. There’s no doubt more moves are coming from Grimwood as he looks to make his mark on the Grizzlies as their new GM and head coach.
Image credit: Garrett James Photography
