Mikyla Grant-Mentis
Mikyla Grant-Mentis | |||
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Brampton, Ontario, Canada | July 15, 1998||
Height | 5 ft 6 in (168 cm) | ||
Position | Forward | ||
Shoots | Left | ||
PWHL team Former teams |
Montreal Victoire PWHL Ottawa Buffalo Beauts Toronto Six Merrimack Warriors | ||
Playing career | 2016–present |
Mikyla Grant-Mentis (born July 15, 1998) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward for the Montreal Victoire of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). She is the all-time leading scorer of the Merrimack Warriors women's ice hockey team. In 2021, she became the first Black player to win the PHF's Most Valuable Player award.[1]
Playing career
[edit]Grant-Mentis played four years of NCAA Division I ice hockey with the Merrimack Warriors of Merrimack College, a member institution of the Hockey East conference, located in North Andover, Massachusetts. On November 8 of her senior season, she had a four-point (two goals, two assists) game against Maine, becoming just the second player to surpass 100 points in Merrimack program history.[2] She went on to score a hat-trick against Brown three weeks later and was recognized as the Hockey East Co-Player of the Month for November 2020.[3] Her season totals distinguished her as the Warriors' leader in goals (20) and points (33), ranking second on the Hockey East goals leaderboard and top-10 in scoring nationally. In total, she scored 117 points (56 goals and 61 assists) in 137 games with the Warriors and is the program's all-time leading point scorer, all-time assists leader, and second all-time in goals.[4]
Professional
[edit]At the end of February 2020, Grant-Mentis signed with the Buffalo Beauts to finish the 2019–20 NWHL season along with Merrimack teammate Léa-Kristine Demers.[5] She scored three points (2 goal, 1 assist) in two regular season games and added another two points (1 goal, 1 assist) in the PHF playoffs semi-final qualification as the Beauts lost to the Connecticut Whale. She was named Player of the Week in her first week in the PHF.[6]
In May 2020, she signed with the Toronto Six, joining the team ahead of their first season in the PHF.[7] Her first PHF goal as a member of the Six took place in a January 24, 2021, contest versus the 2019 Clarkson Cup champion Minnesota Whitecaps.[8] A 6–5 shootout loss, Grant-Mentis became the only Six player to score in the shootout round. She recorded the game-winning goal in the Six's first win in franchise history against the Boston Pride on January 26, coming back from a 1–0 deficit with a pair of third period goals by Brooke Boquist and Grant-Mentis.[9] She become the most decorated player in a single PHF season, earning a record four accolades, including the first black player in league history to win the Most Valuable Player and Newcomer of the Year Award.[10] Additionally, she was the leading scorer on the Six, which won the regular season title, and was tied as the league-leading scorer.
On May 9, 2022, Grant-Mentis signed a 1 year, $80 000 deal to return to the Buffalo Beauts.[11] This deal made her to highest paid player in PHF history.[12]
After the PHF folding following the 2022-23 season and the founding of the PWHL, Grant-Mentis went undrafted but signed a free agent contract with PWHL Ottawa.
After an underwhelming start to the season and following a stretch of healthy scratches, Grant-Mentis was released from her contract with PWHL Ottawa.[13]
On March 10, 2024, Grant-Mentis signed a Reserve Player Contract with PWHL Montreal.
Personal life
[edit]Grant-Mentis was born July 15, 1998, in Brampton, Ontario. She is the daughter of Sandra Grant-Mentis and James Mentis. Her father played ball hockey with Team Canada and Team West Indies, and remains active with the Brampton Express of the Greater Toronto Ball Hockey League.[14][15] She has two siblings, Marquis and Tre.[16]
Grant-Mentis holds a bachelor's degree in criminology from Merrimack College.[17]
Career statistics
[edit]Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
2013–14 | Oakville Jr. Hornets | Prov. WHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2014–15 | Toronto Jr. Aeros | Prov. WHL | 38 | 5 | 20 | 25 | 8 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 10 | ||
2015–16 | Mississauga Jr. Chiefs | Prov. WHL | 37 | 21 | 28 | 49 | 14 | 11 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 8 | ||
2016–17 | Merrimack Warriors | NCAA | 35 | 9 | 18 | 27 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2017–18 | Merrimack Warriors | NCAA | 34 | 15 | 8 | 23 | 43 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2018–19 | Merrimack Warriors | NCAA | 35 | 12 | 22 | 37 | 29 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2019–20 | Merrimack Warriors | NCAA | 33 | 20 | 13 | 33 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2019–20 | Buffalo Beauts | PHF | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||
2020–21 | Toronto Six | PHF | 6 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
2021–22 | Toronto Six | PHF | 19 | 13 | 17 | 30 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
2022–23 | Buffalo Beauts | PHF | 24 | 9 | 12 | 21 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2023–24 | PWHL Ottawa | PWHL | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2023–24 | PWHL Montreal | PWHL | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
PHF totals | 51 | 29 | 34 | 63 | 32 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | ||||
PWHL totals | 13 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — |
Sources: Elite Prospects,[18] USCHO,[19] and the PWHL.[20]
Awards and honours
[edit]- 2021 NWHL Most Valuable Player[21]
- 2021 NWHL Newcomer of the Year
- 2021 NWHL Foundation Award (Toronto Six representative)[22]
- 2021 NWHL Fans' Three Stars[22]
- 2020–21 NWHL most goals scored[23]
References
[edit]- ^ "Toronto's Mikyla Grant-Mentis named MVP at 2021 NWHL Awards". sportsnet.ca. April 28, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
- ^ "College Hockey: Grant-Mentis sets new program points record for Merrimack women". The Eagle-Tribune. February 8, 2020. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
- ^ "Grant-Mentis and Vanišová Named Co-Player of the Month for November". Hockey East. December 5, 2019. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
- ^ Connolly, John (February 24, 2020). "Mikyla Grant-Mentis shines for Merrimack". Boston Herald. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
- ^ Oliver, Nathaniel (February 27, 2020). "Buffalo Beauts Ink Two Merrimack Stars in Time for Playoffs". The Hockey Writers. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
- ^ Murphy, Mike (March 3, 2020). "NWHL Goal of the Week: Welcome to the show, Mikyla Grant-Mentis". The Ice Garden. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
- ^ Levine, Justin (May 18, 2020). "Toronto Begins Busy Day With Signing Of Forward Mikyla Grant-Mentis". The Puck Authority. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
- ^ "Away Whitecaps vs Home Toronto Jan 24, 2021 at 1:00pm EST at: Herb Brooks Arena - 6 – 5 FINAL SO". March 3, 2021. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
- ^ "Away Toronto vs Home Pride Jan 26, 2021 at 8:30pm EST: Herb Brooks Arena 2 – 1 FINAL". nwhl.zone. January 26, 2021. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
- ^ Kevin McGran (April 30, 2021). "From the rink to the food bank, Toronto Six star Mikyla Grant-Mentis is making a difference". thestar.com. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
- ^ "News: Reigning League MVP Grant-Mentis Joins Beauts - Buffalo Beauts". beauts.premierhockeyfederation.com. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
- ^ Kennedy, Ian (May 9, 2022). "Mikyla Grant-Mentis signs largest contract in women's hockey history". The Hockey News. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
- ^ Kennedy, Ian (February 18, 2024). "Mikyla Grant-Mentis Released From PWHL Ottawa". The Hockey News Womens News, Analysis and More. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
- ^ "Honoring the Sport History". National Ball Hockey Association of Canada. October 3, 2014. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
- ^ "Stats: James Mentis". Greater Toronto Ball Hockey League. Retrieved September 26, 2020. [dead link]
- ^ "2019-20 Merrimack College Women's Ice Hockey Roster: Mikyla Grant-Mentis". Merrimack College Athletics. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
- ^ "Merrimack Hockey Player Accomplishing Goals On and Off the Ice". Merrimack College Office of Communications. March 12, 2020. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
- ^ "Player Profile: Mikyla Grant-Mentis". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
- ^ "Mikyla Grant-Mentis: Career Statistics". United States College Hockey Online. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
- ^ "Mikyla Grant-Mentis Stats and Player Profile". PWHL - Professional Women's Hockey League. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
- ^ "Toronto Six forward Mikyla Grant-Mentis named National Women's Hockey League MVP". thestar.com. April 28, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
- ^ a b Paul Krotz (April 28, 2021). "NWHL ANNOUNCES 2021 AWARD RECIPIENTS". NWHL. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
- ^ "Stats 2020–21". nwhl.zone. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
External links
[edit]- Biographical information and career statistics from Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
- 1998 births
- Living people
- Ice hockey people from Brampton
- Canadian women's ice hockey forwards
- Black Canadian ice hockey players
- Black Canadian sportswomen
- Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States
- Merrimack Warriors women's ice hockey players
- Buffalo Beauts players
- Toronto Six players
- PWHL Ottawa players
- Oakville Jr. Hornets players
- Toronto Jr. Aeros players