Mikyla Grant-Mentis facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Mikyla Grant-Mentis |
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| Born | July 15, 1998 Brampton, Ontario, Canada |
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| Height | 5 ft 6 in (168 cm) | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Shoots | Left | ||
| PWHL team Former teams |
Montreal Victoire PWHL Ottawa Buffalo Beauts Toronto Six Merrimack Warriors |
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| Playing career | 2016–present | ||
Mikyla Grant-Mentis (born July 15, 1998) is a talented Canadian professional ice hockey player. She plays as a forward for the Montreal Victoire team in the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). Mikyla is known for being the top scorer ever for the Merrimack Warriors women's ice hockey team. In 2021, she made history as the first Black player to win the Most Valuable Player award in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF).
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Mikyla's Hockey Journey
Mikyla Grant-Mentis played college ice hockey for four years. She played for the Merrimack Warriors at Merrimack College in Massachusetts. This team is part of NCAA Division I, which is the highest level of college sports in the United States.
On November 8, during her final year, she had an amazing game against the Maine team. She scored two goals and made two assists, getting four points in total. This made her only the second player in Merrimack's history to score over 100 points.
Just three weeks later, she scored a hat-trick (three goals in one game) against the Brown team. Because of her great playing, she was named the Hockey East Co-Player of the Month for November 2020.
That season, Mikyla led her team in goals (20) and points (33). She was also second in goals in the Hockey East conference and among the top 10 scorers nationwide. Overall, she scored 117 points (56 goals and 61 assists) in 137 games for the Warriors. She holds the record as the Merrimack program's all-time leading scorer and assist leader.
Playing as a Professional
In February 2020, Mikyla started her professional career. She signed with the Buffalo Beauts to finish the 2019–20 NWHL season. In her first two games, she scored three points. She was even named Player of the Week in her very first week!
In May 2020, she joined the Toronto Six for their first season in the PHF. On January 24, 2021, she scored her first goal for the Six against the Minnesota Whitecaps. She was the only Six player to score in the shootout round of that game.
Mikyla scored the winning goal in the Six's first-ever franchise win against the Boston Pride. She helped her team come back from being behind to win the game. She became the most awarded player in a single PHF season, winning four honors. This included being the first Black player in the league to win the Most Valuable Player and Newcomer of the Year awards. She was also the top scorer for the Six, who won the regular season title.
On May 9, 2022, Mikyla signed a big one-year deal worth $80,000 to play for the Buffalo Beauts again. This made her the highest-paid player in the history of the PHF at that time.
After the PHF league ended in 2023, a new league called the PWHL started. Mikyla was not chosen in the draft, but she signed a contract as a free agent with PWHL Ottawa.
After a challenging start with PWHL Ottawa, Mikyla was released from her contract. However, on March 10, 2024, she signed a new contract with PWHL Montreal as a Reserve Player.
About Mikyla's Life
Mikyla Grant-Mentis was born on July 15, 1998, in Brampton, Ontario, Canada. Her parents are Sandra Grant-Mentis and James Mentis. Her father played ball hockey for Team Canada and Team West Indies. He still plays ball hockey today. Mikyla has two siblings, Marquis and Tre.
Mikyla studied at Merrimack College and earned a bachelor's degree in criminology.
Career Statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2013–14 | Oakville Jr. Hornets | Prov. WHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Toronto Jr. Aeros | Prov. WHL | 38 | 5 | 20 | 25 | 8 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 10 | ||
| 2015–16 | Mississauga Jr. Chiefs | Prov. WHL | 37 | 21 | 28 | 49 | 14 | 11 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 8 | ||
| 2016–17 | Merrimack Warriors | NCAA | 35 | 9 | 18 | 27 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Merrimack Warriors | NCAA | 34 | 15 | 8 | 23 | 43 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Merrimack Warriors | NCAA | 35 | 12 | 22 | 37 | 29 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Merrimack Warriors | NCAA | 33 | 20 | 13 | 33 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Buffalo Beauts | PHF | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21 | Toronto Six | PHF | 6 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2021–22 | Toronto Six | PHF | 19 | 13 | 17 | 30 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2022–23 | Buffalo Beauts | PHF | 24 | 9 | 12 | 21 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2023–24 | PWHL Ottawa | PWHL | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2023–24 | PWHL Montreal | PWHL | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| PHF totals | 51 | 29 | 34 | 63 | 32 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | ||||
| PWHL totals | 13 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
Awards and Honours
- 2021 NWHL Most Valuable Player
- 2021 NWHL Newcomer of the Year
- 2021 NWHL Foundation Award (Toronto Six representative)
- 2021 NWHL Fans' Three Stars
- 2020–21 NWHL most goals scored
