| HT | WT | DOB | POS | SHOOTS | OHL DRAFT | NHLCS | COUNTRY |
| 6’1 | 190 | Janu 11, 2005 | D | R | 60th 2021 | 62 N A | USA |
| SEASON | LEAGUE | TEAM | GP | G | A | PTS |
| 2020-2021 | AYHL U16 | North Jersey Avalanche | 11 | 6 | 5 | 11 |
| 2020-2022 | USHL | Fargo Force | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021-2022 | U17 | Team USA | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| 2021-2022 | OHL | Sudbury Wolves | 49 | 2 | 11 | 13 |
| 2022-2023 | OHL | Sudbury Wolves | 67 | 10 | 28 | 38 |
Considering this was the second OHL season for Matthew Mania of the Sudbury Wolves it was a bit surprising to see how much more comfortable he became as the season progressed, at least on the offensive side of the game. Sure, you expect to see a development curve, but I expected some comfort level after playing 49 games a season ago.
Mania’s skating is his best asset and he uses it to drive the play from the back end. His superb acceleration often starts the transition from the defensive zone and his great agility and top end speed allow him to maneuver up the ice almost at will. But he didn’t start the season that way. As mentioned in the opening, it appeared he wasn’t comfortable in the beginning, or perhaps he lacked confidence but as the season progressed it all came to the forefront.
Once Mania gets moving up ice and gains the offensive zone, he has the vision and the playmaking skills to set up teammates for scoring opportunities. He is a smart player and knows when to slow down to wait for something to open up for him. However, it’s too soon to tell how all this will translate to the pro game.
Despite being an offensive dynamo, Mania needs to work on his defensive game. Sure, we say this about almost every defenceman at this level, but gets knocked around along the walls or in front of his net with relative ease. He definitely needs to get stronger in those areas. And you figure that with his skating, he could use that more effectively to keep opponents to the outside more effectively.
Still, we like the upside in Mania. He has it in spades and we will have him in the upper part of our draft rankings betting on that upside. If he had shown more progression in his own zone though, there’s no telling how high he could have been.
OHL Writers 