The Michigan Amateur Hockey Association is proud to recognize the Oakland Jr. Grizzlies as recipient of the USA Hockey Female Honors Award at the 2023 MAHA Awards Banquet.

One of the key leaders at OJG is Michael Buell. Mike has been passionate about girls, having daughters of his own.  He started coaching an 8u team with 9 girls.  More and more girls began to join the team after Try Hockey For Free events and Bring a Friend to Hockey. By the end of the season, he had 18 girls.  

Mike's favorite story is of coaching a 2nd year 8u player who had only ever skated on a pond, and had no prior team experience.  She came out to practice and struggled early on, and was frustrated the other girls were “zipping around“ her... but she continued to attend and stuck with it. Now 2 years later, she is a member of the 12u Gold tier II travel team.  If not for her experience with the girls, and the friendships made, she may not have started hockey on a youth team or had success there. 

Mike was responsible for bringing the idea of an 8u Girls division to the MAHA Mite State Tournament, convincing the MGHL to offer a a Girls 8u division which had 7 teams this year. 

For the coming season, the Grizzlies will have 8u, 10u and 12u teams -- which have grown  from 4 original players to 45 in just two calendar years.

The USA Hockey Female Honors Award is designed to recognize hockey associations that are leaders in the growth, development, and promotion of ice hockey for females. The Oakland Jr. Grizzlies' commitment to Girls hockey, driven by Mike’s leadership contributions, is the reason they were selected for this award.