How Mikyla Grant-Mentis Is Thriving In Montreal

Mikyla Grant-Mentis found her stride, and started thriving late in the season for PWHL Montreal. Here's analysis and video showcasing Grant-Mentis' late season surge from Jordan Jacklin.

On February 18, 2024, PWHL Ottawa parted ways with Mikyla Grant-Mentis in a move that came as a surprise to many. The 25-year-old had three assists through six games with the team, and the organization believed that Rosalie Demers, who they signed as a corresponding move, could provide a different element to their roster.

Flash forward, Grant-Mentis signed with PWHL Montreal to a standard player agreement on March 17. She has gotten chances in the team’s top-six forward lines, and seen time with Marie-Philip Poulin on occasion.

Let’s dive into her on-ice performance in Ottawa, and compare her utilization in Montreal, where she now is being used on the team’s powerplay.

Grant-Mentis is the F1 on her line, and is responsible for entering board battles, and winning puck retrievals. During her second last game with Ottawa, when they faced Boston on January 24, her line with Kateřina Mrázová and Akane Shiga struggled defensively. In their 5v5 minutes, they were outshot 12-8, and Boston had the shot attempt advantage with 19-12.

However, Grant-Mentis was a shooting threat on her line, taking four shots on six attempts, with two of them being in high danger areas. With 14:37 left in the first period, she won a battle to the loose puck as the two Boston players had a miscommunication. Instead of instantly shooting, she held onto the puck and aimed for the high blocker on Aerin Frankel. Although this shot didn’t result in a goal, it created a rebound, and allowed for secondary offensive scoring chances.

With 14:20 left in the second period, Grant-Mentis created the steal in the neutral zone, and found Mrázová, who created a high danger scoring chance. She always has an active stick, and an ability to read the opponent. She won the Premier Hockey Federation's MVP award in 2021 for a reason.

One of the main issues with Grant-Mentis in Ottawa was her lack of passing, and generating rush scoring chances. There are moments where she can push the play forward, such as when she made a between-the-legs drop pass to Mrázová in the second period. That choice led to sustained offensive zone pressure where they generated a redirected shot.

Once she was in the offensive zone, she was in her element, but she struggled to get there through the first six games of the season. Montreal identified this, and set her up into a position to succeed when bringing her over.

In her first game with the team against Minnesota, she played on a line with Gabrielle David and Maureen Murphy. In their 5v5 minutes, they were outshot 8-2, and Minnesota had the shot attempt advantage with 16-7. Although they generated a goal in their first shift playing together, it took some time for the trio to gain chemistry.

As the game progressed, Grant-Mentis started to carry the puck with possession, but failed to generate scoring chances. She had one controlled zone entry in this game, which will limit her offensive abilities as the F1 on the line.

Moving forward to the historic game against Toronto on April 20, where 21,105 fans attended the largest crowd in women’s hockey history, Grant-Mentis had found her role on the team. Her line outshot Toronto 7-5 in her 5v5 minutes, with three of them coming from her stick in five attempts. In this game, she played on a line with David and Sarah Lefort.

With 9:49 left in the first period, she came off the bench and opened herself up for a breakaway chance, where she was denied by Kristen Campbell. This has become a common theme for how her line plays in transitions, where Grant-Mentis is now tasked with being the main puck carrier through the neutral zone.

With 14:23 left in the second period, Grant-Mentis pressured Sarah Nurse to make a failed clear attempt along the boards, and it was intercepted by David. She dropped the puck back to Grant-Mentis, who drove to the middle of the ice to shovel a backhand shot towards the net. The initial attempt didn’t work, but it led to two high danger shot attempts, with one of them going on goal.

Her best play came with 4:51 left in the second period, where she won a board battle and intercepted the puck from two Toronto skaters. She was poised behind the net, brought it back into her forehand, and passed it to an accelerating Lefort for the high danger scoring chance.

As mentioned above, Grant-Mentis is playing less 5v5 ice time compared to her time in Ottawa, but is getting looks on Montreal’s second power play unit. After six games of acclimatizing herself into the system, she scored two power play goals against Boston on Saturday.

With 16:19 left in the third period, score effects were applied and Montreal drew a power play with a three goal deficit. Amanda Boulier received the puck at the blueline and noticed that Grant-Mentis and David were open in front of the net. Boulier took the slapshot, and Grant-Mentis scored on the rebound. This play showcased her ability to sneak past opposing defenders and create open space for herself.

On the second power play goal, Grant-Mentis shifted towards the middle of the ice as Mariah Keopple received the puck at the left point. Both Grant-Mentis and David were providing difficulty for Frankel, and she scored on the redirection.

With two goals through seven games, she is starting to find her footprint with the team, and could be a key factor as Montreal looks to make a long playoff run this spring.