Mantha Answers Wings' Challenge To Dominate AHL, Earns Call-Up To Detroit
By: Will Burchfield
@burchie_kid
When the Red Wings demoted Anthony Mantha to AHL Grand Rapids prior to opening night, Jeff Blashill and Ken Holland issued him a challenge.
"I talked to Blash and Kenny when I left here. They wanted me to dominate in the American League," Mantha said on Friday.
The 22-year-old forward answered the call, leading the league with eight goals through his first ten games. He earned a promotion to the Red Wings on Friday in the wake of an injury to Andreas Athanasiou.
He'll make his season debut on Saturday night in Montreal. Mantha played in ten games for the Wings toward the end of last season, registering 2 goals and an assist.
"It's the same opportunity," he said. "Obviously I wanted to show the Red Wings and the guys over here I could play here. I want to be a good impact player tomorrow night and the nights to come after that."
Mantha is the second player the Wings have called up from Grand Rapids this week. On Monday, they promoted Tyler Bertuzzi, looking for some grit around the net. Mantha will help add some finesse.
"Obviously, I want to try to bring a scoring touch a little bit," he said.
The Wings rank 19th in the league with 2.60 goals per game and 23rd with 28.5 shots per game. The big-bodied Mantha, Detroit's first-round draft pick in 2013, can help improve those numbers.
"It's just a matter of making sure that motor of his is going and that he's winning puck races and winning puck battles," said Blashill. "If he has that, he's going to have the puck on his stick lots. And if he has the puck on his stick lots, he's going to be a real effective player."
At 6'5, 205 pounds, Mantha immediately becomes the Wings' biggest forward. Over the summer, he worked hard to add more muscle to his NHL-size frame, eating up to eight meals per day.
"I put on a lot of weight this summer. I think it could help me out for sure. It did in the American League up to now, so I can't wait to test it on the ice tomorrow night," he said.
Blashill recognized the change in Mantha's build the moment he saw him at the start of training camp.
"I thought it was a noticeable difference in his body composition when he came back from the summer," said the coach. "That was something I challenged him on at the end of last year, the organization challenged him on, and he seemed to really answer that.
"When you're that size of a guy and you can be that kind of a load, it can be a real asset for a team - especially a team like us that doesn't have lots of big forwards. So I'm hoping he can come in and play great."
He has plenty of momentum to build on thanks to his hot start in Grand Rapids.
"He's certainly at times done what we've asked him to do, and that's look like he's in the wrong league. The more you do that on a consistent basis in the American League, the more you're telling people you're an NHL player," Blashill said.
The Wings have yet to determine who Mantha will play with in his season debut. Blashill said the coaching staff will finalize the forward lines on Saturday.
"I just need to be ready," Mantha said. "Whatever my line is tomorrow, I'll try to grab my chance and keep going with it."
On Friday, after his first practice with the Wings in over a month, Mantha thought back to being cut from the team's final roster just before the season began.
"I won't lie, it was frustrating for sure. I wanted to stay here. But at the same time, I can't just sit down and be mad about it the whole time. I needed to step up and I needed to bring my game to another level to have the chance to be called up. And I think that's what I did."
