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Mantha describes his grandfather’s profound impact on him originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Capitals fans have been learning a lot about Anthony Mantha ever since the forward arrived in D.C. at the trade deadline a couple of weeks ago. Not only is he an expert goal scorer (goals in his first four games in Washington), he also has quite the fascinating backstory.
Like many NHL players, Mantha comes from a hockey family. Mantha’s family likely has more hardware than most, though—his grandfather, André Pronovost, was a winger for the Montreal Canadiens and won four straight Stanley Cups as a Hab from 1957-60. According to Mantha, his grandfather was one of the most influential people in his hockey upbringing.
“My grandfather was awesome actually. When I got drafted in New Jersey, he was almost the most emotional out there,” Mantha said in an interview with the Caps This Morning podcast. “Back then [when Pronovost played] they didn’t really have a draft, so he kind of lived his own draft through me. It was pretty cool.”
Mantha’s grandfather was a very prominent figure for Anthony throughout the early part of his playing career as well. When Mantha scored his first career goal in Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Pronovost was there along with 14 other members of the family.
“First off, my whole family was there, friends—you just can’t ask for better,” Mantha said. “And also, my grandma was there, and for her it was her first trip down to Detroit ever since my grandpa played there [from 1962-65]. Unfortunately, it was also her last, so for me scoring that goal and seeing those pictures of my grandpa and my grandma with tears—it was just unbelievable.”
Mantha’s inaugural NHL goal, which came against the same Canadiens for whom his grandfather used to play, went viral—in part because it was the first of many goals Mantha would go on to score, but mostly because the reaction of his grandparents in the stands. You can watch Mantha’s goal and his family’s reaction here, but you might want to have some tissues ready.
Now 84, Pronovost still cheers on Anthony as a Capital. Pronovost, along with all Capitals fans, is hoping that Anthony and company can join him and have their names etched onto the Stanley Cup this season.