The Edmonton Oilers’ Ryan Mantha, a right-handed defenseman, and captain of the OHL’s Niagara Ice Dogs is having his best season to date and to top it off the coaches of the opposing teams have recognized this in the annual OHL Coaches Poll.
What is the OHL Coaches Poll? Ripped straight from the OHL’s website, it says:
The OHL Coaches Poll provides member club coaches with the opportunity to recognize the top three players in 20 different skill categories within their own conference.
Ryan Mantha was actually ranked in FOUR categories in his conference (the most of any player) and those categories were:
Best Defensive Defenseman (1st)
Best Shot (2nd) – Behind Owen Tippett and if you’ve seen Tippett’s shot (It’s incredible), you know how good that must make Mantha’s.
Most Improved Player (tied for 1st)
Best Offensive Defenseman (2nd)
Admittedly, I don’t follow junior hockey closely apart from the weekly gander at the top draft prospects but it sounds like Mantha is a dominant player at the junior level and if he’s thought of so highly by the other coaches in the league, might we infer that he’s the best defenseman in the OHL right now? Honestly, look at the categories he’s ranking so highly in.
Using Christian Roatis’ NHLe calculator, his NHLe for this season would be 25 pts and IF that were to translate to real life, Mantha would be 4th in rookie scoring for defensemen, tied with Ivan Provorov and ahead of others such as Jakob Chychrun, Josh Morrisey, and Brandon Carlo.
Draft Guru Steve Kournianos had this to say about Mantha on Twitter today:
I gotta say, I like the sounds of that scouting report. This is definitely the kind of player the Oilers system is lacking and it’s about time Edmonton starts stacking its minor league club with quality prospects instead of AHL vets. I can understand signing a career minor leaguer who could play bottom 6 or bottom pairing but I believe that the most impactful TOI should be given to the prospects and that developing the players should be the ultimate goal NOT winning because if it’s done right, the winning will be a result of proper development.
Next season will most likely see Bakersfield welcome Caleb Jones, Ethan Bear, and potentially William Lagesson to their club AS WELL AS Ryan Mantha, I mean, barring any trades of course.
The future does indeed look bright and I, for one, am looking forward to finally cheering for a club that will draft and develop their assets properly. Something that can’t really be said for previous regimes.
What do you think about Mantha? Have you seen him play?
**This is another guest post from former BLH contributor and a well-known and respected member of multiple Oilers Facebook groups, Micah Kowalchuk.**
As I sit here enjoying the fact the heat has gone out in my building in the balmy Saskatchewan winter…
So, we have 3 new players, Ryan Mantha, Justin Fontaine and David Desharnais..
Ryan Mantha: This is a 6’5 225lb right-shot defender who was drafted in the 4th by the Rangers, then when he didn’t sign his rights were traded to Washington, and he didn’t sign there either, and now he’s with the Oilers. He’s got 51 points in 58 games, and he’s the captain of his team.
One of the reasons he signed here is he liked the fact the Oilers let their prospects play, we can expect to see him with the Condors as soon as his junior season ends.
The knock on him is his skating, but that’s usually the knock on most players of his size. He’s also been criticized for poor positioning in the past, but that appears to be improving.
Don’t expect him on the Oilers right away, but he’ll form the core of a very good Bakersfield Condors D with Caleb Jones, Ethan Bear and others.
Justin Fontaine: We got him in an AHL trade for Taylor Beck, who’s very good AHL season wasn’t translating to the NHL.
Fontaine played for the Wild from 2013-2016, scoring 68 points in 197 games with an average of 12 minutes ice time. He’s 5’10 174lbs, and he’s not a physical player, nor does he block a ton of shots. However, he doesn’t make many mistakes, and had a -3.2% CORSI with a 44/56 offensive and defensive zone usage.
His best season was 2014-2015 when he had 31 points in 71 games, 0% CORSI, in 12mins ice time.
For now, he’s an AHL player, but he’s an AHL player who’s proven in the past he can be a productive 3rd/4th line RW. We all know the Oilers have some question marks on the right side, and he’s being brought in because he can legitimately push for a spot.
Desharnais I’ve already discussed, but I’ll just restate that this is a player who, as recently as last season, was a .45ppg C. He’s having a down year this year with a .32ppg season, but there’s also been a lot of flux in the Montreal lineup and he was hampered by injuries.
Although he’s a smaller player, he’s had 5 NHL seasons with over .5ppg, he’s a safe bet to be able to go back to those numbers with some quality linemates, and to move back into the 50% faceoff range he’s spent most of his career at.
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Yes, the new people are small. We have a small 3C (5’7). Now as much as people are terrified of the small people, let’s keep in mind that, as a team, the Oilers are very, very, very big these days..
Players on the Oilers under 6’0: Caggiula, Desharnais, Eberle, Letestu, Russell. We can breath in and remember that against St. Louis we put 9 guys on the ice over 210lbs.
Ok, I can hear the screaming already. I know, I know, but I’ll explain his logic, which makes more sense once it’s laid out (he never did explain it, this is me figuring out why he said it)
Nothing one really needs to explain about the Top-6 or the Defense at all, so this will cover the Bottom-6 and the Return of Pouliot.
The 3rd line: Yes, Pouliot is there, and Puljujarvi. Why on earth would we do this?
(1) Pouliot has played 300 minutes with Desharnais in Montreal, so about 25 games. There’s some comfort there.
Now, first thing that jumps out is Khaira’s CORSI, but small sample size and 8 minutes a game will do that, don’t overrated it too much. Second thing we see is Pakarinen is putting up some good numbers, but again, small sample size. If both of these guys keep those respective numbers going by the playoffs, expect a re-think.
For now, we know Puljujarvi can score, and his defense was underrated. The idea seems to be that he’ll be playoff ready by the end of the season, and short of Pakarinen, he had the best numbers of any of these guys.
As for Pouliot instead of Slepy or Cags, defensively (weird, I know) he is actually better, and although the scoring numbers are similar, Pouliot has proven to be a scoring forward as recently as last year.
In theory, if they can all rebound or step up, Pouliot-Desharnais-Puljujarvi can be a legitimate 3rd scoring line. There’s all the talent in the world there if it comes together, and both Pouliot and Puljujarvi have the size to support Desharnais.
At this point, Cags/Slepy haven’t proven enough in the scoring department to unseat anyone from this hypothetical 3rd line. Even if you hate Pouliot. Although, if Pakarinen keeps up his near .40ppg pace, he might take this spot instead and Puljujarvi stays in the minors. Basically, some European guy with the last initial P will be here.
On the 4th line, Khaira’s looked good, but there hasn’t been the offense there to displace Hendricks from his playoff spot. And Kassian on the right side has proven to work well with Letestu, so, yeah.
Love it or not, this is the likely playoff roster (with Pakarinen my better favorite to steal that 3RW spot)
Finally: For the “OMFG WHY DID WE NOT GET MORE STUFF AT THE DEADLINE CROWD”
Well, we have wings. Lots of wings. Would have been nice to get a more proven wing, but when we got the 3C instead, that meant we weren’t going to bother. Why? Because we have Eberle and Draisaitl at the right wing, and a ton of options for the bottom-6. So, yes, no wingers, 3C instead, makes sense.
Defense: We got Mantha, nothing else was worth kicking tires on. If PC decides he really wants to gamble on a scoring RHD, he’ll go toss Wisniewski a few bucks. Makes sense.
So, that takes us to goaltending. People want to know, why didn’t we get a goalie??? There was Halak, Fleury, Niemi, Lehtonen, Pavelec, Mason, Neuvirth..
Setting aside salary costs, contract terms, etc.. This is why..
Our existing backup, Laurent Brossoit, has a .910.
Basically, we didn’t get a backup goalie because the ones on the market cost too much, are all having brutal seasons (league average goaltending is .913), and quite frankly, PC looked at them and thought “I’m really not sure any of these guys are better than what I have”, and he was probably right.
Now, we may need to play LB more, so be it, but when it boils right down to it, can’t blame the guy.
And now back to the playoff stretch!
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I’m glad I didn’t spend the day watching TSN’s and Sportsnet’s coverage of the trade deadline… Wow! What a shitshow the deadline has turned out to be. I’d suggest the NHL just go to something similar to what they have in club soccer and have windows at the beginning of the year and at the midpoint of the season but NHL teams barely make any trades in-season as it is, so that probably wouldn’t work. I mean if it wasn’t such a kick in the junk to the players, I’d be all for making it a big draft-like event where all the GMs pile into an arena where there are 31 tables set up for one weekend and it’s televised and you can see what deals are being offered and rejected. THAT would be fun to watch. Instead, we’re treated to questionable attempts at sketch comedy unless of course you have Ilya Bryzgalov… Kudos to Sportsnet for snagging that beauty!
So, who did the Oilers manage to bring in for their playoff run?
David Desharnais (C/W):
Yesterday, we posted an article with a variety of reactions from local Edmonton media and bloggers here if you’d like to refresh yourself. Myself, I’m still on the fence because I haven’t made a point to watch a lot of Habs games in the past but from what I’ve gathered since Chiarelli joined the team, he likes hard-working character guys. Players who can fit into his team’s style and are excellent locker room additions. He’s got no time for egos.
So I’m curious to see how Desharnais fits into this Oilers squad. I believe he will replace Drake Caggiula in the lineup and will most likely play a mentor-like role for Caggiula. I support this notion and the timing is just right as I feel the college kids (Benning, Caggiula) are starting to hit a wall as the season moves on.
I believe that Desharnais will be an option for bottom-6 centre. I’m not necessarily convinced he’s a better candidate for important faceoffs than Hendricks, Letestu, or even Khaira. In my opinion, he’d look good with Benoit Pouliot on his left wing and Anton Slepyshev on his right IF he’s drawing in at centre. If he’s coming in on the left wing, then, I’d like to see him on Letestu’s wing with Kassian on the right side.
Justin Fontaine (RW):
The former Bonnyville Pontiac (AJHL) has tallied 30 points in 50 games for the AHL’s Hartford Wolfpack this season. In the previous three seasons, he has racked up 68 points in 197 games playing for the Minnesota Wild.
Fontaine replaces Taylor Beck, who was having a stellar campaign for the Condors but some feel he was getting in the way of Jesse Puljujarvi’s development by taking more of his ice time be it 5×5 or on the PP. Fontaine is an excellent option for the Condors 2nd-line RW.
Ryan Mantha (D): We posted an article waaaaaaaay back in December telling you that the Oilers were looking at this hulking OHL overager and what do you know, he actually signs with the team! I’d actually been tipped off on this signing but was told to keep it on the down-low. Lucky for me at that time, there were some other factors that helped point us in the direction that hinted at Mantha signing with Edmonton.
For me, there’s nothing wrong with this signing at all. The captain of the Niagara Ice Dogs is really starting to develop nicely is emerging as the top overage defenseman in the OHL. I like players who are leaders on their junior teams. I like big defensemen who can put up offense and in this day and age, I like right-handed defensemen. Mantha checks all of those boxes.
Lastly, I really dig the idea of him joining the Condors once his OHL season is over. Bakersfield could use a righty who can possibly put some points up on the board.
And who left the organization?
Brandon Davidson
Taylor Beck
I’m not surprised one bit that the Oilers didn’t buck up and bring in some of the higher profile players rumored to be available. I know that they were in on some goalies but as I said over and over with Halak, the Isles just wouldn’t budge on the contract thing. If they’d decided to eat some of his salary, we might be adding his name to the list of players acquired by Edmonton.
That being said, PA Parenteau for a 6th rounder? That’s a bet I’d be willing to make. And who foresaw Andrew Ference’s contract being dangled out there? Would Radim Vrbata be an Oiler right now if Ference’s contract had been moved?
In the end, I’m stoked to have an older player available for the Oilers as they go into the final leg of this epic playoff drive. I don’t have high expectations for him though. We say that he could be a Derek Roy-like acquisition for the Oilers but don’t hold your breath. Desharnais wasn’t having a great season before he came here and now he has to acclimatize himself to a new team, a new system, a new conference, and a new city. There are a lot of roadblocks in his way but I still have faith in him to try his damnedest while he’s a member of the Edmonton Oilers.
What do you think of the 2017 NHL trade deadline for the Oilers? Did Chiarelli do enough to give these boys a chance at the 2nd round of the playoffs this year? Let us know in the comments below!
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Ryan Mantha is a 20 year old 6’5″ 225lb right-handed shooting defenseman for the Niagara Ice Dogs and speculation has it that the Oilers could be looking to sign the Ice Dogs captain.
Now as Oilers fans, we all know that these rumors come from all sorts of nooks and crannies, and this one just happened to spurn on that boards over at Hockey’s Future. You know me, anything to get the inside scoop on something Oilers-related, right?
Anyways, I guess the tipping point was Mantha following the Oilers on Twitter today… Thanks to my friend David for pointing this out to me 🙂
Let’s talk a bit more about the nephew of former NHL defenseman, Moe Mantha.
RYAN MANTHA
Date of birth: 6/18/1996 Place of birth: Clarkston, Michigan Ht: 6’5″ Wt: 225 lbs Shoots: Right Position: D
Ryan Mantha was originally drafted by the New York Rangers in the 2014 draft in the 4th round (104th overall). He wasn’t signed and went back into the draft but subsequently wasn’t picked and is now a free agent to sign where he pleases. This season he attended the Buffalo Sabres training camp but couldn’t catch on and was released back to junior to play for Niagara of the Ontario Hockey League.
As you can see, his production has gone up exponentially for the Ice Dogs this year. At nearly a point-per-game, Mantha is showing an offensive element that was previously untapped. Here’s what is being said about him online:
Mantha has good bloodlines and impressive size. Handles the puck well and makes a strong breakout pass. Uses his reach and strength to defend. He needs to work on his transition and overall mobility as well as improve his physical play as he comes off as somewhat soft. (November 2013)
Mantha does play the game smart though. He is poised with the puck and is great at finding open teammates up the ice. He has a strong outlet pass from his own zone. His skating has been somewhat of an issue, but nothing a little determination won’t fix. He has a blast from the point. Mantha also has great reach, as would be expected since he’s 6’5″.
Has been man-sized since he was 16, and was converted to a dman due to his size and temperament. Has a big hard shot, and is good at getting the puck to his mates. He will need more lateral ability to close better, but he does a fine job of clearing the front and protecting teammates. Was named to the USA Developmental team playing in the Ivan Hlinka Tournament. Was named to the U.S. World Junior A roster for the Junior A Challenge.
So there you have it, I don’t know if there’s any substance to the HFBoards speculation (there often isn’t) but this is an intriguing player and one that the Oilers need in their system. Chiarelli has had some pretty good luck signing players out of college (Benning, Caggiula, Ellis), why not try an overager out of the OHL?
