Anthony Mantha Wolfing Down Food To Pack On The Pounds

By: Will Burchfield
@burchie_kid

Red Wings forward Anthony Mantha was so committed to beefing up during the offseason that he ate enough food for a small village.

In talking to reporters on Wednesday, the 22-year-old said he approached his nutritional plan like a scrum in the corner.

"Nutrition was way better this summer. Not that I didn't eat good the years before, but I just beared down and ate maybe seven or eight times a day just to put body weight on," Mantha said.

Spoken like a true hockey player. The dude "beared down" in his efforts to eat.

The 6'5 Mantha said his weight hovered between 212 and 214 pounds last season, when he put up 21 goals and 45 points for the AHL Grand Rapids Griffins. He's checking in at 220 pounds right now, which is where he would like to stay for the upcoming season.

Despite his man-child stature, Mantha said he's never eaten so much in his life. His new diet was quite the adjustment.

"It was huge at first. Obviously your body can't really eat that much but after maybe two or three weeks in I got used to it and I was craving food every two hours," he said.

Along with increasing his food intake, Mantha spent a good portion of the summer working out with teammates Dylan Larkin and Luke Glendenning. He made his NHL debut last year and is hoping to make the Wings' roster to start the season.

Mantha was Detroit's first-round draft pick (20th overall) in 2013.

For a full account of his offseason meal plan, check out this video from WXYZ's Brad Galli:

"It was just something I had to go through."

That's a hockey player, folks.

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• Detroit Red Wings