Mikyla Grant-Mentis was already blazing trails in hockey, and now she adds her name to the history books.
Yesterday Mikyla signed a one-year, $80,000 free-agent deal with the Buffalo Beauts of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF), making her the highest-paid player in professional women’s hockey history.
“Buffalo was the team to give me my first opportunity to play in the PHF,” said Grant-Mentis in a statement. “so choosing to make a professional change to the Buffalo Beauts at this point in my career is an excellent opportunity for me to fine-tune my skills and bring them to an entirely new level on and off the ice. I feel great pride joining a team with good history, a team where all members have mutual respect and value everyone’s contributions.”
The Canadian-born player was a star for NCAA D1 program Merrimack College. During her four years with the Warriors, Mikyla scored 117 points (56 goals and 61 assists) and is the program’s all-time leading point scorer, all-time assists leader and ranks second all-time in goals.
After her senior season, she joined the Beauts at the tail end of the 2019-20 season.
The following year she joined the Toronto Six and dominated, becoming the most decorated player in a single season in PHF history.
In the 2020-21 season, she won league MVP, Newcomer of the Year, the Foundation Award and the Fans’ Three Stars Awards during the pandemic-shortened season.
This past season, Mikyla continued her domination. She ranked second in points scored (30), third in goals (13) and second in assists (17), all in only 19 games.
Now she’s returning to Buffalo as the highest-paid player in league history, and Buffalo is excited to welcome “Buckey” back.
“The opportunity to add such an elite player like ‘Buckey’ rarely comes along in professional sports,” said Beauts GM Nate Oliver. “We are extremely excited that she is returning to Buffalo and will be a Beaut once more. There aren’t many athletes who can take over a game the way that ‘Buckey’ can. She is just a tremendous hockey player who truly loves the game and plays it with a fiery passion. We feel very fortunate that she believes that the Beauts are the right fit for her.”
