Helene St. James

Detroit Free Press

One of the evaluation points that weighs especially heavily for the Detroit Red Wings in regard to prospects is playoff performance.

That's why it's so encouraging for them to see 2013 first-round draft pick Anthony Mantha thrive in his second go-around for the Grand Rapids Griffins, Detroit's AHL affiliate.

Mantha scored twice as the Griffins closed out their first-round series against Milwaukee with a 4-1 victory Tuesday. Mantha, 21, had three goals in the three-game series.

"His goals were goal scorers' goals," Wings general manager Ken Holland told the Free Press today. Holland was one of several Wings executives who attended the game. "Anthony has made great strides this year. He had a tough rookie year in the AHL -- part of that was injury, part of that was making the jump from juniors.

"He has used the adversity of his first year to bounce back. He had a real good season with Grand Rapids, got his feet wet in the NHL. We were hoping Grand Rapids would go on a run so he could get some experience."

The Griffins next face Lake Erie in a best-of-seven series.

Tyler Bertuzzi, a second-round pick from the 2013 NHL draft, also had three goals in the series. They're different types of players -- Mantha is more of a skilled scorer, whereas Bertuzzi has potential as a gritty, net-front player.

"Both bring important dimensions," Holland said. "Both are young players that we need to be important in Detroit one day."

If Mantha continues to dominate in these AHL playoffs, he improves his stock for next season's Wings team. Mantha scored twice in a 10-game audition for the Wings in March. His assets include tremendous size -- 6-feet-5, 214 pounds -- something Holland acknowledged that the Wings need more of on a team loaded with smaller, skilled forwards.

Detroit Red Wings prospect Tyler Bertuzzi strong in AHL playoffs

Seven for worlds: Gustav Nyquist has agreed to play for Sweden at next month's world championship, bringing the number of Wings headed there to seven. The U.S. has Dylan Larkin and Luke Glendening, Russia has Pavel Datsyuk and Alexey Marchenko, Finland has Teemu Pulkkinen, and Slovakia has Tomas Jurco. Tomas Tatar is awaiting medical clearance for a rotator cuff injury before he can join the Slovaks.

Contact Helene St. James: hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames.