Wikipedia

Mikyla Grant-Mentis

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]

Mikyla Grant-Mentis
Born (1998-07-15) July 15, 1998 (age 26)
Brampton, Ontario, Canada
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

Playing career

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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

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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

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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

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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

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  • 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

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  1. ^ "Toronto's Mikyla Grant-Mentis named MVP at 2021 NWHL Awards". sportsnet.ca. April 28, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  2. ^ "College Hockey: Grant-Mentis sets new program points record for Merrimack women". The Eagle-Tribune. February 8, 2020. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  3. ^ "Grant-Mentis and Vanišová Named Co-Player of the Month for November". Hockey East. December 5, 2019. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  4. ^ Connolly, John (February 24, 2020). "Mikyla Grant-Mentis shines for Merrimack". Boston Herald. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  5. ^ Oliver, Nathaniel (February 27, 2020). "Buffalo Beauts Ink Two Merrimack Stars in Time for Playoffs". The Hockey Writers. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  6. ^ Murphy, Mike (March 3, 2020). "NWHL Goal of the Week: Welcome to the show, Mikyla Grant-Mentis". The Ice Garden. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  7. ^ Levine, Justin (May 18, 2020). "Toronto Begins Busy Day With Signing Of Forward Mikyla Grant-Mentis". The Puck Authority. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
  8. ^ "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.
  9. ^ "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.
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ "News: Reigning League MVP Grant-Mentis Joins Beauts - Buffalo Beauts". beauts.premierhockeyfederation.com. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
  12. ^ Kennedy, Ian (May 9, 2022). "Mikyla Grant-Mentis signs largest contract in women's hockey history". The Hockey News. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
  13. ^ Kennedy, Ian (February 18, 2024). "Mikyla Grant-Mentis Released From PWHL Ottawa". The Hockey News Womens News, Analysis and More. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
  14. ^ "Honoring the Sport History". National Ball Hockey Association of Canada. October 3, 2014. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
  15. ^ "Stats: James Mentis". Greater Toronto Ball Hockey League. Retrieved September 26, 2020. [dead link‍]
  16. ^ "2019-20 Merrimack College Women's Ice Hockey Roster: Mikyla Grant-Mentis". Merrimack College Athletics. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  17. ^ "Merrimack Hockey Player Accomplishing Goals On and Off the Ice". Merrimack College Office of Communications. March 12, 2020. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  18. ^ "Player Profile: Mikyla Grant-Mentis". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
  19. ^ "Mikyla Grant-Mentis: Career Statistics". United States College Hockey Online. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
  20. ^ "Mikyla Grant-Mentis Stats and Player Profile". PWHL - Professional Women's Hockey League. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
  21. ^ "Toronto Six forward Mikyla Grant-Mentis named National Women's Hockey League MVP". thestar.com. April 28, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  22. ^ a b Paul Krotz (April 28, 2021). "NWHL ANNOUNCES 2021 AWARD RECIPIENTS". NWHL. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  23. ^ "Stats 2020–21". nwhl.zone. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
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