Detroit Red Wings vice president Jim Devellano was clearly not impressed with prospect Anthony Mantha’s goalless performance with Grand Rapids during the AHL playoffs, and he wanted everybody to know it by publicly putting the former first-round pick on blast, telling Fox Sports Detroit:
“Very, very, very disappointing,” said Devellano regarding Mantha’s play. “And I say that with a lot of sadness. Coming out of junior, we had such high hopes for him.”
Those comments are very critical for a player in his first professional season. The reigning CHL Player of the Year came into the AHL after dominating the QMJHL, where he scored an impressive 71 goals combined in the 2013-2014 regular season and playoffs for the Val d’Or Foreurs. He joined Grand Rapids this season after signing an entry-level deal, and hasn’t put up the same kind of numbers on a stacked AHL team. Mantha scored 15 goals this season in 62 games, and hasn’t yet scored in 5 playoff games. While those numbers don’t parallel his junior numbers, they aren’t horrible.
Devellano makes it sound like Mantha is broken beyond repair, when in reality he’s a 20-year-old trying to find his footing in pro hockey. Mantha had six forwards outscore him on the Griffins, including Landon Ferraro and Teemu Pulkkinen. His opportunities and ice time may have suffered from being on a team with so many good forwards. Yes, not scoring in the playoffs is a tad disappointing, but judging a player on a five game sample size is harsh, especially when Mantha is still so young.
The public comments would make much more sense if he was A) drafted higher than 20th overall and had exceedingly impossible expectations (clearly Detroit likes him) B) Detroit lacked prospects and really needed to hit a home run with Mantha, neither which are the case. Even if Mantha was a disappointment, publicly criticizing him may help motivate him, but if he doesn’t improve – which I’d be shocked to see considering his skill level – it hurts his trade value significantly should they explore that avenue. It’s a no-win scenario.
Here’s Detroit brass gushing about Mantha. Clearly expectations are sky high.
Mantha still is apt time to turn things around. Red Wings prospects are rarely rushed to the show, and often develop in the AHL until they’re 22-25 years old. Mantha still has plenty of time to get there. While he can improve, he’s putting up decent numbers. Let’s imagine what those numbers may look like in two to five years with more time to adjust to the pro game. Calling him a disappointment now is a mistake as there’s not much to be gained from saying that publicly. It’s time for Mantha to prove Devallano wrong.
