Red Wings: Getting to know Anthony Mantha

NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - NOVEMBER 23: Anthony Mantha #39 of the Detroit Red Wings skates against the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center on November 23, 2019 in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils defeated the Red Wings 5-1. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - NOVEMBER 23: Anthony Mantha #39 of the Detroit Red Wings skates against the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center on November 23, 2019 in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils defeated the Red Wings 5-1. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

Continuing our “Getting to know your Detroit Red Wings” series, we feature forward Anthony Mantha.

Detroit Red Wings forward Anthony Mantha isn’t the prototypical player the franchise’s fans are used to. He’s a 6-foot-5 (tallest on the team), 234-pound (heaviest on the team) forward who better fits the mold of today’s NHL player.

The mix of size and finesse popped off the charts and into the stat sheets as a prospect with Val-d’Or Foreurs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). In 124 games with the club he scored a whopping 107 goals and a total of 209 points. That’s how you get drafted 20th overall.

While many of you know who Mantha is on the ice, what else is there to know about the 25-year-old Canadian who grew up a Montreal Canadians fan, living  across the St. Lawrence River in Longueuil, Quebec?

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The winger celebrates his birthday on Sept. 16 and is set to get a nice birthday gift with a new contract from general manager Steve Yzerman this offseason.

He also isn’t the first person of his family to play for the Detroit Red Wings, and is hoping to become the second in his family to win a Stanley Cup, too. That’s because his paternal grandfather is four-time Stanley Cup champion André Pronovost.

He too, like teammate Dylan Larkin, is currently off the market. So again, sorry ladies. He is dating pilates instructor Caitlyn Duffy. You can learn more about her, here.

During quarantine, Mantha didn’t turn to getting a pet like Larkin, but he finally got a haircut and now more resembles a hockey player rather than a cave man. He’s also sporting a fantastic beard that I’d put up against his former Red Wings teammate Henrik Zetterberg. Thoughts?

You can follow him on Instagram and Twitter to keep up with him.