Maurice William Mantha Jr. (born January 21, 1961) is an American former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

defenseman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the l ...

and who played twelve seasons in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL) with the

Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The Jets compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The te ...

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. The Penguins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), E ...

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

Minnesota North Stars The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, and the team's colors for ...

, and

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team play ...

Playing and coaching career

Mantha was born while his father, Moe Mantha Sr., was playing for the Cleveland Barons of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

(AHL). He was subsequently raised in Canada, when his father retired from hockey and returned to his hometown of

Sturgeon Falls Sturgeon Falls is a community and former town in Nipissing District, Ontario, located on the Sturgeon River. The community had a population of 6,939 at the 2021 census and a density of 1,129/km2 (2,920 sq mi). Following a failed legal challeng ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. Moe Mantha Jr. has represented the United States in international hockey; he was a member of the U.S. team in the 1981, 1985, and 1991

Ice Hockey World Championships The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual international men's ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), first officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics. The IIHF was created in 1908 while the I ...

as well as the

1992 Winter Olympics The 1992 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVI Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Albertville '92 (Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Arbèrtvile '92''), were a winter multi-sport event held from 8 to 23 February 1992 in and aroun ...

. Mantha first played for the

Toronto Marlboros The Toronto Marlborough Athletic Club, commonly known as the Toronto Marlboros, was an ice hockey franchise in Toronto, Canada. Founded in 1903, it operated junior ice hockey and senior ice hockey teams in the Ontario Hockey Association and la ...

of the

Ontario Hockey Association The Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) is the governing body for the majority of junior and senior level ice hockey teams in the province of Ontario. Founded in 1890, the OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern ...

in 1978, and was drafted by the NHL's

in 1980. He played for the Jets and their minor league farm teams until 1984, when he was traded to the

. He was then sent to the

in 1988; the Oilers traded him to the

later that same season. He later played for the

and another stint with the Jets. 1992–93 was Mantha's final season as a player, for the AHL's

Hershey Bears The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The Bears have played in the American Hockey League (AHL) since the 1938–39 season, making it the longest continuously operating member club of the league still ...

; he has since coached teams in the AHL (Hershey and the

Cincinnati Mighty Ducks The Cincinnati Mighty Ducks were a professional ice hockey team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They were members of the American Hockey League, and played their home games at the Cincinnati Gardens. Throughout their existence they were the primary m ...

) and the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a minor professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams across the United States and Canada. Competitively, it is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ...

Columbus Chill The Columbus Chill were a professional ice hockey team that played in the East Coast Hockey League from October 1991 through the 1998–99 season. They played at the Ohio Expo Center Coliseum in Columbus, Ohio. The Chill left Columbus in 1999 an ...

. He coached the junior USA team out of

Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...

, from 2000 to 2004. In 2005, Mantha was named as the head coach of the Detroit Gladiators of the new

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association () was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972–73 WHA season, 1972 to 1978–79 WHA season, 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (N ...

, but the league never made it to the ice; instead, he served as head coach and general manager of the

Windsor Spitfires The Windsor Spitfires are a Canadian junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). The team is based in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1971, the franchise was promoted to the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League for the 1975� ...

of the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; ) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League, alongside the Western Hockey League and the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. The league is for players ag ...

(OHL) until he was terminated for gross misconduct during the

Akim Aliu Akim Olumide Aliu (born April 24, 1989) is a Nigerian-born Ukrainian-Canadian professional ice hockey player currently an unrestricted free agent. Aliu was a second-round selection of the Chicago Blackhawks, 56th overall, in the 2007 NHL Entry ...

Steve Downie Steve Downie (born April 3, 1987) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Philadelphia Flyers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Colorado Avalanche, Pittsburgh Penguins and Arizona Coyote ...

hazing scandal that ultimately resulted in the Spitfires being fined $35,000 under Mantha's tenure. Mantha then served as the general manager and head coach for the French River Rapids of the

NOJHL The Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL) is a Junior ice hockey league with eleven teams in Northeastern Ontario and Upper Michigan. The league is a constituent member of the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) and is governed by the N ...

. On February 16, 2016, he was named interim head coach of the

Saginaw Spirit The Saginaw Spirit are a Junior ice hockey#Major junior, major junior ice hockey team based in Saginaw, Michigan, Saginaw, Michigan. They are members of the West Division of the Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), one of the ...

of the OHL, making his second trip behind the Spirit bench, replacing the recently fired Greg Gilbert. He was not retained at the end of that season. In 2017, he was hired as the head coach and general manager of the

Brookings Blizzard Brookings may refer to: Organizations * Brookings Institution, a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy organization based in Washington, D.C. Places * Brookings, Oregon, USA * Brookings, South Dakota, USA * Brookings County, South Dakota ...

in the

North American Hockey League The North American Hockey League (NAHL) is one of the top junior hockey leagues in the United States and is in its 50th season of operation in 2024–25. It is the only Tier II junior league sanctioned by USA Hockey, and acts as an alternati ...

. The Blizzard retained Mantha for one season after it relocated as the St. Cloud Blizzard in 2019 before he retired in 2020.

Personal life

Mantha's nephew, Ryan Mantha, was drafted by the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...

in the fourth round of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, and was a prospect in the

organization before being sidelined by an eye injury and a heart defect.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Coaching statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mantha, Moe Jr. 1961 births American ice hockey coaches American men's ice hockey defensemen Cincinnati Mighty Ducks coaches Edmonton Oilers players Hershey Bears coaches Hershey Bears players Ice hockey players from Ohio People from West Nipissing Ice hockey players at the 1992 Winter Olympics Living people Minnesota North Stars players Olympic ice hockey players for the United States Sportspeople from Lakewood, Ohio Philadelphia Flyers players Pittsburgh Penguins players Saginaw Spirit coaches Sherbrooke Jets players Toronto Marlboros players Tulsa Oilers (1964–1984) players Windsor Spitfires coaches Winnipeg Jets (1979–1996) draft picks Winnipeg Jets (1979–1996) players 20th-century American sportsmen