Detroit Red Wings forward Anthony Mantha has it all -- size, speed and scoring ability.
Mantha wouldn't beat Andreas Athanasiou or Dylan Larkin in a race but he has to be among the fastest players at his size of 6-foot-5, 225 pounds.
Along with those two players and Tyler Bertuzzi, Mantha is considered part of the core of the young forward group.
Had Mantha not suffered another hand injury this season, he would have likely joined Athanasiou and Larkin as 30-goal scorers.
Mantha finished the season on such a strong note on the Wings' top line with Larkin and Bertuzzi that Team Canada invited him and Bertuzzi to play on their world championship team.
In nine games, Mantha had seven goals, seven assists and was plus-9. He and Mark Stone led Team Canada in scoring.
Only Team Sweden's William Nylander with 18 points, Team Russia's Nikita Kucherov and Nikita Gusev with 16 points each and Team Czech Republic's Jakub Voracek with 16 points had more than Mantha.
Tweet from @HC_Men: Is this real life @antomantha8������ When having mad skills comes in handy. #IIHFWorlds pic.twitter.com/2iQGhkPFE7
Mantha has made tremendous strides in the last couple of seasons.
The next step in his development would be to become a more consistent player, both offensively and defensively.
If Mantha can remain healthy for an entire season, it will be fun to see what he can do.
200 -- On March 2 at Arizona, Mantha played in his 200th NHL game. In the 3-1 loss, Mantha assisted on the Wings' only goal, scored by Larkin at 7:35 of the second. Niklas Kronwall had the first assist. Mantha finished with one shot, two hits, two penalty minutes and was minus-2 in 17:21.
100 -- On Nov. 26 at home against the Columbus Blue Jackets, a 7-5 loss, Mantha had two goals and an assist to reach 100 career points. Mantha played 20:07, had a career-high 10 shots, two hits and was plus-2.
50 -- On Nov. 24 at home in a 3-2 shootout loss to the Buffalo Sabres, Mantha scored his 50th goal at 13:52 of the third period. Bertuzzi and Mike Green assisted. On Jan. 8 at home in a 3-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens, Mantha had the first assist on Athanasiou's third-period goal at 4:58, the 50th assist of his career. Gustav Nyquist had the second assist.
67 -- One season after playing in a career-high 80 games, Mantha was limited to 67 games because of injury. Mantha was eighth on the team in games played. Kronwall led with 79 games.
15 -- During a 2-0 loss to the Colorado Avalanche at Little Caesars Arena on Dec. 2, Mantha fought Avalanche defenseman Patrik Nemeth and injured his right hand. Although he did not break his hand, Mantha missed 15 games from Dec. 4-Jan. 2 because of the injury. Nemeth signed with the Wings as a free agent on July 1. From March 23 to the end of the season, Mantha scored 15 points (8-7-15), the most of any NHL player in that span.
25 -- Mantha surpassed his career high, scoring 25 goals in 67 games, beating his 2017-18 total by one. That was third on the team. Larkin led with 32 goals and Athanasiou was second with 30.
48 -- Mantha finished with 48 points (25-23-48) in 67 games. That tied Mantha's career best, set in 2017-18. But in that season, Mantha needed 80 games to reach that mark.
