Anthony Mantha (looking good so far in AHL)

[Dotter]

I've been watching Mantha in the AHL this season and he's been great. His skating is amazing for such a big guy, he's not shying away from physical play, his passing is absolutely underrated and the puck always seems to find him.

Despite not tearing up the AHL in goals, he's been a mighty fine player down there. His points will come. I'm actually very excited about seeing him in the NHL. When he gets to play with some good talent, I think the possibilities are endless.

He is rounding out his game exactly like Red Wings want.

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[BinCookin]

I've been watching Mantha in the AHL this season and he's been great. His skating is amazing for such a big guy, he's not shying away from physical play, his passing is absolutely underrated and the puck always seems to find him.

Despite not tearing up the AHL in goals, he's been a mighty fine player down there. His points will come. I'm actually very excited about seeing him in the NHL. When he gets to play with some good talent, I think the possibilities are endless.

He is rounding out his game exactly like Red Wings want.

That is good. I saw video of his assist on Meile's goal a few games back. It was nice. Lets hope he starts producing more.

 

[ap3x]

How likely is it that AA and Mantha get back on the same line together for tonight?

 

[Birko19]

He played very well in the preseason, I honestly would be not be surprised if he turns into a Franzen replacement very soon.

 

[TheMule93]

Hopefully he and Larkin can be our next two headed monster for a decade. By the sounds of it he will be able to push the pace with larkin, both being great skaters.

 

[FlashyG]

He's got another 2 helpers tonight.

AA and Jurco both got their first goals back with the Griffins as well.

 

[Unfriendly Ghost]

He's so much better a playmaker than his post-draft narrative allowed for. He's so, so skilled for a huge guy. If he can take this kind of performance lately and build on it, he'll be worth the patience. His ceiling is still super high.

 

[19 for president]

I would not at all be suprised to see Mantha be a better nhler than ahl guy. I also would be surprised if it all just clicks for him at like age 24 or 25 and he just starts to dominate offensively.

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

He has been the Griffins best player this year by a healthy margin, well at least when Jurco isn't down.

 

[Jon Cusack]

Looks like he is hurt now

 

[sarcastro]

Looks like he is hurt now

He fought Stu Bickel last night. Maybe dinged himself up there.

 

[LordNeverLose]

Outside fan here:

Is Mantha purely a scorer or is he a complete player? I see he's 6'5", but does he use the body? Does he PK?

 

[TheMule93]

Outside fan here:

Is Mantha purely a scorer or is he a complete player? I see he's 6'5", but does he use the body? Does he PK?

He's pretty dynamic as both a scorer and a playmaker.

Doesn't do much PK afaik and his defensive game is nothing special. A decent comparison might me Corey Perry, minus the *************

 

[SimplySolace]

Outside fan here:

Is Mantha purely a scorer or is he a complete player? I see he's 6'5", but does he use the body? Does he PK?

He's in GR to work on completing his game. He doesn't use his body.. definitely a sniper, but has real underrated playmaking. He PK'ed for Val D'Or, but not sure if he does in GR.

 

[Shaman464]

It worrying how little he is lighting the lamp in the AHL.

 

[Unfriendly Ghost]

Outside fan here:

Is Mantha purely a scorer or is he a complete player? I see he's 6'5", but does he use the body? Does he PK?

He's been a lot more physical this year. He doesn't really PK, but he's been solid defensively this year in the games I've seen. In general, he looks way better away from the puck. His pace and compete level look much improved.

But he still defers to AA all the time. Those two are like oil and water. Mantha becomes a support player when they play together. It's good, because he's involved defensively and battling and so on, but he's always the guy doing the hard work for AA to cash in on. When he's lucky, he gets the assist.

But I do want to point out that Mantha has been a really good playmaker this year. He's not just some one trick pony where if he isn't scoring goals, he isn't making things happen.

 

[detredWINgs]

It worrying how little he is lighting the lamp in the AHL.

I wouldn't worry about it. From what I've seen of him this year, he's playing like he knows he needs to be a leader up front. He's doing what needs to be done instead of what he wants to do. He's not hiding in pockets like he did in juniors and he's such an underrated playmaker. I'm actually really happy with how he's played this year in spite of the goal totals.

 

[Claypool]

I haven't seen as many games of Grand Rapids this season compared to last, but the games I did see Manth was doing great defensively. He's back checking, creating takeaways, and making smarter plays rather than forcing bad shots. I'm not too worried about his low goal total because he's proven to have a booming shot.

 

[Tatar Shots]

The reason why he is not scoring is because he has Red Wingsitus. He passes up way to many shots trying to set up a teammate. Not necessarily a bad thing right now as he has always been an underrated playmaker, but eventually they will tell him to start shooting more and we will see an uptick in his goals. Right now I am pleased with his all around game, consistency, and intensity from game to game.

 

[skate skate skate]

Maybe getting a call up? Lets hope!

 

[CerealKiller]

So is it that he is playing better, starting to skate and use his body more and creating plays but the scoring just isn't there yet?

 

[FissionFire]

Maybe getting a call up? Lets hope!

Not sure who he would replace in the lineup. The top 6 is pretty set and Jurco is coming off an excellent game so benching him would just be foolish. No point messing up his confidence just as he might finally be finding a comfort level.

 

[Laser Rayzor]

Bob Kaser makes it sound like Mantha is a healthy scratch



Around the 2:50 mark

 

[TheMule93]

Bob Kaser makes it sound like Mantha is a healthy scratch



Around the 2:50 mark

That would be very odd, because Mantha has been producing well recently

 

[Flowah]

Not sure who he would replace in the lineup. The top 6 is pretty set and Jurco is coming off an excellent game so benching him would just be foolish. No point messing up his confidence just as he might finally be finding a comfort level.

Andersson?.... Put Helm down on the 4th where he belongs, Jurco stays just because, Mantha tries out with Datsyuk. Not impossible.