The Calgary Flames are looking to new winger Anthony Mantha to unleash his shot, and unleash it often. Mantha, who inked a one-year, $3.5 million contract with the Flames during the offseason, is making his presence felt in training camp. He has been skating alongside Jonathan Huberdeau on a line centered by Martin Pospisil.
With a career-high of 198 shots in a season, set during the 2018-19 campaign, head coach Ryan Huska is challenging Mantha to surpass that mark. The Flames are in need of a dynamic right winger to complement Huberdeau and Huska believes Mantha can be the answer.
Standing tall at 6-foot-5, Mantha tallied 23 goals and 44 points in 74 games split between the Washington Capitals and Vegas Golden Knights last season. When asked about the increased focus on his shooting, Mantha stated, “It’s freeing, but to be able to fire the puck, you need to be able to get it back. You need those second, third opportunities. Right now, I’m on a line with Huby and Pospy. I think we’re going to be able to get those second and third pucks in the offensive zone and create chances.”
Huska has set a specific target for Mantha, emphasizing the winger’s impressive shot. “He’s got a rocket of a shot,” the coach enthused. “I asked him to shoot more…if he’s gonna play with Huby, Huby’s a pass-first guy as we know. So I want him to be ready to shoot. We feel like if he has the mindset of, ‘I’ve got to get up to 300 shots,’ which is a lot of shots, then he’s gonna score some goals because he’s naturally talented that way.”
The Flames are eager to see how Mantha’s increased shooting mentality will impact the team’s offensive output, and with Huberdeau’s playmaking ability, there could be a deadly combination in the making. Time will tell if Mantha can rise to the challenge and become the sniper the Flames have been seeking.
