VANCOUVER, B.C. — Anthony Mantha’s rise as a leading scorer for the Detroit Red Wings shows his commitment to putting in hard work.

Entering Monday’s game at Rogers Arena against the Vancouver Canucks, Mantha had goals in three straight games to lead the Wings with seven goals overall, and his 13 points were tied with Dylan Larkin and Mike Green. For coach Jeff Blashill, who coached Mantha for two years in the American Hockey League before taking over the Wings, the dominance reflects Mantha’s growth from entitled junior hockey star to engaged NHL forward.

“He’s become a guy who does it right more than he used to,” Blashill said after Monday's morning skate. “And that’s not a knock, that’s just the progression of a player. One of those areas for certain is that he skates way more now. When he first came to us, he skated about about 25% of the time. Now he skates closer to 80-90% of the time, and when he is skating, he is a really elite player.”

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The Wings drafted Mantha 20th overall in 2013, after watching him score 50 goals among 89 points in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League for Val-d'Or. Mantha made that look pale in 2013-14 as he produced 57 goals among 120 points.

Mantha struggled to show the same dominance during his first year of pro hockey.

“It’s impossible to change your habits when you’re having the success that he had,” Blashill said. “How would you ever recognize that as a human being? And so even if people tell you that, it’s impossible to change.

“When he came into the American league and realized there were a lot of other good players that were real similar to him in talent level, he needed to make some changes. And to his credit, he wants to be a real good player."

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Mantha's goal: Consistent impact

Mantha, 23, has shown impressive consistency this season, never going more than three games between goals. He has almost as many assists.

“It feels great,” Mantha said. “I want to keep going that way. I want to be a big impact on this team and I think the way I am playing right now it’s helping the team out.”

Asked about his commitment to skating, Mantha smiled. “I mean in juniors you could escape a game or two without skating and still put points up, but once I got to the American league, I learned pretty quickly that it didn’t happen that way,” he said.

As Mantha has matured, he’s figured out how to use his skill set coupled with his 6-foot-5, 220-pound body. Two of his recent goals have come as he’s gone to the net and either tipped a puck or pounced on a rebound.

“It’s been a point of emphasis of our hockey team to make sure we are doing a way better job of getting to the net,” Blashill said. “He’s a guy that can certainly lead us in that direction.”

It speaks to Mantha’s commitment that he keeps going to the net even he’s gotten dinged on one knee and below the ribs by Frk, who has one of the hardest shots in the league.

“You never quite know where it’s going,” Mantha said. “But, I just need to stand there and have confidence in him.”

Blashill has had Mantha on a line with Larkin, the 21-year-old first-round pick from 2014, much of the season, and the two are consistently making their case for bigger roles.

“As we are getting more mature, even as young guys, we need to be an impact on this team,” Mantha said. “We need to keep pushing offensively but being smart defensively at the same time.”

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

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