Article content

Defenceman Ryan Mantha’s contract with the Edmonton Oilers ends June 30, and sadly, we hardly knew you because your career was derailed by a fluke blood clot in your eye.

He only played 43 games in Bakersfield, his sight damaged in his left eye during a Feb. 2, 2018, AHL game against the Iowa Wild. He hasn’t played since.

Mantha, whose uncle Moe played 25 games here in 1988, was a unique story in March 2017, when the Edmonton Oilers signed the 20-year-old to a three-year free-agent contract. They out-bid several NHL teams because he was a right-shot defenceman, six-foot-five and 229 pounds and he could pound the puck. He was the captain of the Niagara IceDogs on a junior team with current Oilers farmhand winger Kirill Maksimov. He was a very intriguing pickup after being originally drafted by New York Rangers in the fourth round in 2014, but they didn’t see a need to keep him.

“He really found his stride upon not signing with the Rangers and his overage junior prior to signing with the Oilers was very good,” said Craig Button, the NHL draft prospect expert. “He settled into his game and was very effective in many facets.”