Red Wings announce that Anthony Mantha has fractured tibia

By @MichaelCaples –

What was expected to be the hottest topic around the Red Wings’ training camp now won’t be a topic at all.

The Red Wings announced today that top prospect Anthony Mantha – the club’s first-round pick in 2013 – is out the next six to eight weeks due to a fractured right tibia.

Mantha, 20, was expected to compete for a spot in the Red Wings’ 2014-15 season-opening lineup during the club’s training camp, which begins today in Traverse City.

Mantha missed the Wings’ final game in the NHL Prospects Camp tournament in Traverse City on Sept. 16, after getting “banged up” in a previous game at the same tournament. It was reported at the time that he had a sore knee.

The 20-year-old reigning QMJHL MVP scored 81 goals in 81 games last year, and is being talked about as the next great star for Hockeytown, though there were question marks about whether he would be starting his professional hockey career in Grand Rapids or Detroit.