This year has been full of successes for the Tier 1 Elite Hockey league and all of our teams. Highlighting the individual successes of our teams and our players is one of the best parts of looking back on our season. One such team deserving of recognition is the Oakland Jr. Grizzlies. They have had much to celebrate but recent player movement and development deserves special shout out. Some of their recent player news includes:

Oakland Jr. Grizzlies U16 AAA forward Will Lockwood has been chosen to the 2014 NTDP U17 squad, consisting of the top 1998 born players across the country.  Earlier in March, Lockwood earned an invite to the NTDP tryouts where he impressed the staff with a strong camp.  Will is a dynamic skater with great hands and has excellent hockey sense.  This combination made him a top forward in the Tier I Elite League's U16 AAA division this past winter. Lockwood made a commitment to play his college career to the University of Michigan shortly after making the U17 National Development team. The organization couldn’t be more proud to have Will represent the Grizzlies with the U17 NTDP team in 2014-15.

Oakland Junior Grizzlies defenseman Michael Underwood was recently chosen to Michigan's select 16 National camp as one of the top 20 players in Michigan born in 1998. The 5'10 170lb defenseman was drafted in the 15th round of the USHL by the Fargo Force, taken 232nd overall. Underwood was a solid 2 way defenseman with excellent puck skills and played a vital role on the power playing with the Grizzlies U16 AAA team. 

The Oakland Junior Grizzlies are also proud to announce right winger Coale Norris has been selected to the final roster of the 2014 Michigan select U17 squad. This is the second year in a row that Norris has been chosen to participate in the National event held in Buffalo, NY over the summer.  A great accomplishment for the U16 AAA Grizzly considering he missed half the season with a knee injury that kept him out until the end of December. An excellent playmaker and good offensive skills with the ability to score big goals made him one of the teams top producers in 2014 with 4 goals, 11 assists in 15 league games.

Some other great hockey news came for the Oakland Junior Grizzlies when offensive defenseman Derek Daschke was selected in the 2nd round of the USHL draft, 27th overall by Cedar Rapids. The club has big plans for Derek, choosing to tender him for their 2014-15 season. The USHL wasn't the only league that saw the 6’2 170lb defenseman as a player with big upside and that was evident when he was drafted by the Guelph storm of the OHL in the 10th round, 200th overall. Derek had a great offensive year for the U16 AAA Grizzlies accumulating 8 goals & 22 assists in just 35 games while playing in the Tier 1 elite league. Congratulations to Derek and best of luck in Cedar Rapids from the entire Grizzly organization!!!

The Bloomington Thunder selected Oakland Junior Grizzlies U18 AAA defenseman Jalen Smereck in the 1st round of the 2014 USHL draft, chosen 18th overall. Jalen is a hard-nosed defenseman that played big minutes for the Grizzlies in all situations during the 2014 season. The 6’1 170lb defenseman finished the season with 2 goals & 21 assists in just 36 league games.  Smereck was also drafted last summer in the 15th round # 299 overall in the OHL by the Oshawa Generals.

Another member of the U16 AAA Grizzlies that was drafted in multiple junior leagues is Carter Woolley. Carter was taken in the 15th round of the OHL draft last summer by the Mississauga Steelheads, 300th overall. The 5’11 165lb power forward was also drafted in 2014 by USHL’s  Muskegon Lumberjacks 286th overall.  A hardnosed 2 way forward that brought physical play and high compete level each and every night, Woolley finished the 2014 campaign with 9 goals & 8 assists in 31 league games.  

The Oakland Junior Grizzlies produced yet another first rounder in the 2014 USHL entry draft when U18 AAA forward Georgy Gorodetskiy was selected 12th overall by Cedar Rapids. Georgy was the Grizzlies top scorer this season with 21 goals, 21 assists in 27 league games.  A power left winger with a tremendous shot and scoring touch made him one of the league’s most dangerous offensive players. The native of Yekaterinburg, Russia played 2 seasons with Shattuck St. Mary’s before coming over to play with Oakland’s program for the 2013-14 season.

Congratulations to the players above and the entire Oakland Jr. Grizzlies organization!