Remember Anthony Mantha? The QMJHL superstar whose final seasons with the Val d’Or Foreurs compared to those of Sidney Crosby and Mario Lemiuex?
Anthony Mantha, the kid whose performance in Grand Rapids last year left senior vice-president Jim Devellano “very, very disappointed”? The same former top-prospect for the Red Wings who Dylan Larkin made us all temporarily forget about.
Mantha, 20th-overall pick by the Red Wings in 2013, lit a fire under the butts of fans (in a good way) as he was headed for seemingly-sure stardom in the form of a dominant power winger, and the prophecy was written before he even finished his junior career.