The hockey world is remembering Andre Pronovost, a 1960s Red Wing and former Montreal Canadiens winger, after news of his death at age 90.
For Anthony Mantha, though, the memory that stands out most isn’t a stat line or a roster move. It’s the look on his grandfather’s face when Mantha buried his first NHL goal - a game-winner for the Detroit Red Wings in 2016.
“Being a French-Canadian, your idol is Maurice Richard,” Mantha told DHN’s Bob Duff several years ago. “He’s probably one of the best players that played hockey. That my grandpa played with him, you know, it’s something he’d tell me stories about.”
Pronovost’s connection to hockey royalty ran deep, and Mantha grew up hearing about the old Canadiens greats who would stop by his grandfather’s house: Richard, Dickie Moore, Jean Beliveau and Bernie “Boom Boom” Geoffrion.
That family link to the game crossed generations. Mantha scored his first NHL goal against the Canadiens, one of the two teams Pronovost suited up for in his career.
Pronovost also played for the Boston Bruins and Minnesota North Stars, appearing in eight games with Minnesota in 1967-68. Montreal traded him to Boston for Jean-Guy Gendron on Nov. 27, 1960, and Boston later sent him to Detroit for Forbes Kennedy on Dec.
In 556 NHL games, Pronovost scored 94 goals, including 16 with the Canadiens in 1957-58. He also won the Stanley Cup in his first four seasons in Montreal from 1957 to 1960.
Mantha, now with the New Jersey Devils, said the lessons from his grandfather went beyond stories and old photos. Pronovost was part of the game in the most hands-on way, even joining family pond-hockey sessions in Quebec.
“I would live probably a two-minute walking distance from a nice
little pond (in Quebec),” Mantha said. “We would bring our net and stay on there for hours.”
Pronovost also helped shape Mantha’s development as he climbed the hockey ladder.
“When I was younger, he brought me to the rink, brought me skating,” Mantha said. “From around the age of 8-9 to 15-16, he told me to just have fun. Those are the years that you need to have fun.
“Once I started playing junior, he was more talking to me about what I needed to do, “
Mantha is not the only Pronovost grandchild involved in pro hockey. His sister Elizabeth is one of the AHL’s first female referees.
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