If you Build It...
Devils winger Anthony Mantha has skated all training camp and through the preseason on a line with Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt. A lot has been made of him trying to build chemistry with two elite players that are already in sync due to years of playing together.
Mantha, 32, has put in the work in the film room, in practice and during the preseason slate to figure out how he can best fit and compliment Hughes and Bratt.
“You watch clips and try to understand their thinking. They’re just rotating fast and making plays,” Mantha said. “They’ve played together for many, many years. Their chemistry, they know exactly where each other is on the ice and know exactly what’s going to happen when one has the puck and where the other one is going.
“I’m still trying to learn. Obviously, it’s not perfect yet. You’re learning every day to position, maybe a good screen for player to get a bump and it opens up a teammate, go to the net, make plays. Name it, I’m still learning. I’m still trying to figure it out. We’ll get there.”
The problem is that only so much can be done during practice or even preseason games. It takes real games and real competition for that fluid work between a trio to develop.
“It’s a game feel. That’s mostly how chemistry works,” Mantha said. “It’s finding each other and finding that chemistry during games. Practice is one thing but once game night comes it’s a whole different level. That’s where it’s built.”
But Mantha isn’t looking to be a passenger. He wants to be an equal driver of play on the line, bringing his unique skillset to the table. And that means producing.
He added: “I just need to get open, demand the puck and make some plays once I have it.”
