what will Detroit do with Mantha over the next 2 or 3 seasons ?

[tedduf]

Detroit can be painfully slow with prospects (for impatient fantasy hockey types like me)...and I do know it's for his own good. But is Mantha worth the wait ? Is this kid good enough to make the Detroit roster any faster than the usual time they invest ? (see Tatar, Nyqvist, etc). I have visions of the magic man feeding him the puck, but really that may never happen if he's in the 'A' for the next 2 or 3 years. Calgary's Bennett is also available, maybe I will get a faster fix drafting him...but his +/- is going to be terrible. Our farm teams are painfully small at 4 spots, so hanging on to Mantha is probably quite a long term commitment I would guess...the spots are valuable to us in that sense.

[tedduf]

oh damn...can you move the thread to the correct forum. Sorry

[STLblues]

I actually think Mantha is ahead of Bennett as far as eta to nhl

[The Bottlenecker]

I actually think Mantha is ahead of Bennett as far as eta to nhl

On Detroit?? The RedWings have tons of guys on one way contracts, would love to get Alfredsson back, and historically take their time with prospects. Same can't be said about Calgary.

[mojavedesert]

I have wondered about Mantha's arrival also. On RW he is currently behind Nyquist and Jurco so he may not have a chance for at least two years. And then when you expect it to be his turn to earn a roster spot, Detroit will sign a grizzled veteran instead. I am confident he will be in the AHL this season and as much as I hope he makes the roster next season (2015/16) I fear he spends that year also in the minors, with call-ups both years as an injury replacement. Three years from now he might skate 10-12 minutes a night, more if he completely plays phenomenal in Grand Rapids.

[doulos]

I have not seen anything that makes me think Detroit will treat Mantha any different than other prospects. A long road ahead for him.

[yougo]

I have not seen anything that makes me think Detroit will treat Mantha any different than other prospects. A long road ahead for him.

Other than the fact that Babcock went to see him live in Val D'Or during the Q playoffs, and spoke about Mantha like he's a much different prospect that the Wings usually possess.

Since 2000 (actually since 1992), Detroit only drafted two forwards in the first round : Sheahan and Mantha. It's not like we have a lot of data on how Detroit handles stud forward prospect, since Sheahan has never really had the hype of Mantha or the breakout like Mantha did last year.

I think Mantha will force himself into a roster spot in 2015-16, all depending on his production this season in Grand Rapids.

[metaldude26]

I think Mantha has a long road ahead.

[Kane Ryker]

Detroit has had many a good prospects go through their system and it's correlated into a very consistent franchise. You have to expect the same philosophy will remain in tact. It's what they do and how they run their franchise. Mantha is a very intriguing prospect and has big upside in the long run but for now Detroit will continue to let the prospects develop. It will take a while before he's playing in Joe Louis Arena.

[doulos]

Other than the fact that Babcock went to see him live in Val D'Or during the Q playoffs, and spoke about Mantha like he's a much different prospect that the Wings usually possess.

Since 2000 (actually since 1992), Detroit only drafted two forwards in the first round : Sheahan and Mantha. It's not like we have a lot of data on how Detroit handles stud forward prospect, since Sheahan has never really had the hype of Mantha or the breakout like Mantha did last year.

I think Mantha will force himself into a roster spot in 2015-16, all depending on his production this season in Grand Rapids.

Kind words and good scouting are pretty typical. Maybe you're right, but I'm not convinced yet.

[Bazz]

I'll go with they haven't had a prospect like him but with their deep roster he gets no love in 2014-2015 and gets a taste 2015-2016. I would rather wait on Mantha then roll the dice on Bennett in Calgary. Eventually Tartar, Nyquist, Jurco and Mantha play top 6 with Larkin. That's kind of sick.

[Zorro]

If its Mantha or Bennett, give me Bennett..

[petegreg21]

I've cited this in other discussions, but at the Mem Cup, Holland said (this is a paraphrase) that the Wings are going to give Mantha every shot to play in the top 6 this year. In camp he will be on lines with Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Nyquist and Franzen and if he can click with one or more of them then he will stick. If he can't keep up with the top 6 he's going to go to Grand Rapids for the year. They don't want him playing 8-10 mins in Detroit, they'd rather let him play 18 in GR.

Mantha is a pretty strong kid and he likes to go to the net, so I think Z, Datsyuk and Nyquist will have the vision to get him the puck and get him some goals. I think he has a reasonable shot to make the team in 2014/2015, but if not I think he's a shoo-in for 2015/2016.

[ccsitdown]

This question has been raised in a number of other threads over the past 6 or 8 months. My take on the insistence that Detroit will sit on him for three or four years because "that's what they always do" is in this thread:

http://forums.dobbersports.com/showt...ht=mantha+domi

I think things are going to speed up in Detroit over the next couple of years out of necessity. And I agree, they haven't really had a prospect like Mantha in a good long time - it's hard to compare him to slight, late-drafted European danglers. One more thing to add - I've read a number of recent articles on the Wing's difficulty in drawing the FAs they used to always get, most recently by Ken Campbell:

http://www.thehockeynews.com/blog/re...of-ruling-nhl/

It's an interesting point. They used to always hold out their prospects in favor of a neverending crop of UFAs who all wanted a shot on the perennial contender. Starting to look like that time has past.

I say all of this simply on the merits of Mantha - I would still have a heck of a time deciding between he and Bennett.

[MarmotKing]

Detroit will take their time with Mantha like any other prospect they have.

I would take Bennett over Mantha. Better value for your limited farm roster spot.