Coaching Spotlight

The GMHL will be covering the coaches that are in our league by profiling the people responsible for the development of the junior hockey players in our programs. Our coaches are at the forefront of ensuring the well-being of our players and making sure that they have the best possible environment to develop as players and individuals.

The first Coaching Spotlight segment of the season features former NHL defenseman Maurice “Moe'' Mantha Jr. Moe was drafted 3^rd overall by the Toronto Marlboros in the OHL. He played two seasons with the Marlboros before being drafted 23^rd overall and playing his first NHL season with the Winnipeg Jets in 1980. The following year he played with the Jets for 25 games and the Tulsa Oilers in the CHL. Moe played in three world championships of hockey accumulating 3 goals and 2 assists in 26 games and was captain of the team twice. In 1992 he made the US national Olympic team, where he scored 1 goal and 1 assist for 2 points in 8 games to help the USA to a 4^th place finish.

In the NHL he played parts of 12 seasons scoring 81 goals and 289 assists for 370 points in 656 games. After playing for the Jets, he played for the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Edmonton Oilers, the Minnesota North Stars, and the Philadelphia Flyers. He then ended his playing career in 1992 with the Hershey Bears in the AHL.

It was in 1992 with those same Bears that Moe started his coaching career. As an assistant coach in the AHL he did 2 seasons with the Bears. He then went to the ECHL as a head coach for 2 seasons with the Columbus Chill before going back to the AHL as a head coach with the Baltimore Bandits and then the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks. In 1997-98 he was the assistant coach of the world championship US team. After two more seasons with the Mighty Ducks, Moe went on the coaching staff for the US national U17 team and the US national U18 team from 2000 to 2003-04. He then went to the CHL where he coached the Saginaw Spirit and then coach and GM of the Windsor Spitfires in the OHL.

Since 2010, Moe coached 8 seasons in the NAHL, 1 season in the NOJHL and 1 season in the OHL before making his way to the GMHL with the West Nipissing Lynx. The Lakewood Ohio native will bring a lot of knowledge and experience to the Lynx as well as provide an environment where their players can develop and be ready to play at the next level.

Welcome to the League Moe!