Mantas Armalis

Mantas Armalis (born 6 September 1992) is a Lithuanian professional ice hockey goaltender for Djurgårdens IF of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). He previously played in various Swedish ice hockey leagues, American Hockey League (AHL) and Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).

Mantas Armalis
Born (1992-09-06) 6 September 1992
Plungė, Lithuania
Height 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight 194 lb (88 kg; 13 st 12 lb)
Position Goaltender
Catches Left
SHL team
Former teams		 Djurgårdens IF
Dinamo Riga
Skellefteå AIK
National team  Lithuania
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 2007–present

Playing career

Armalis began his career with the Djurgårdens IF's under-16 squad during the 2007–08 season, but moved to the Mora IK organization where he played for their junior J18 and J20 teams from 2007 to 2011. He started the 2011–12 season continuing to play for Mora IK, and was temporarily loaned to Söderhamn/Ljusne, a Division 1 C club. He made his debut in Division 1 on 5 October 2011 against Lindlövens IF. Söderhamn/Ljusne lost 5–3, while Armalis made 30 saves on 35 shots playing 60 minutes.[1] On 30 November 2011, he played one more game while on loan to Division 1C team Borlänge HF against Hudiksvalls HC. His team lost 6–5 in overtime as Armalis again made 30 saves on 35 shots.[2] He started 2012–13 season on loan to Tranås AIF and after 18 games of the regular season he had a 6–5–1 record with the second best save percentage in the league among all goalkeepers (93.31%) with 2.09 GAA. His team's results steadily improved after starting season with four losses and they were fighting for a playoff spot, while Mantas went away to help the Lithuanian national team in Olympic qualifiers.

On 11 April 2016, it was announced that Armalis signed an entry-level contract with the San Jose Sharks.[3] Prior to signing with the Sharks, the Toronto Maple Leafs were considered favourites to land Armalis.[4] Armalis made his debut for the Sharks in a preseason game against the Vancouver Canucks where he saved six shots out of seven, while the Sharks won.[5] On 3 October 2016, Armalis was assigned to the Sharks' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate San Jose Barracuda.[6] After the 2016–17 season, the Sharks decided not to issue a qualifying offer to Armalis and he would become an unrestricted free agent on 1 July 2017.[7]

On 3 October 2017, Armalis signed with Dinamo Riga of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).[8] As Dinamo's backup for the 2017–18 season, Armalis collected three wins in 12 appearances.

On 7 May 2018, Armalis returned to SHL and signed a two-year contract with Skellefteå AIK.[9]

On 24 March 2020, Armalis returned to Djurgårdens IF of the SHL and signed a two-year contract.[10]

International play

Since 2008 he is junior member for Lithuania and played for his country at 2008, 2009 WJC18 D1, at 2010 WJC20 D1 and seniorside WJC D1 in 2010, as well as at 2012 WJC20 D1.[11] He was named Best Goalkeeper of the tournament at 2012 IIHF Ice Hockey U20 World Championship Division II Group A in Ukraine.[12]

Modeling

Armalis participated in several Versace runway shows during Milan Fashion Week.[13][14] He worked with several agencies: Stockholmsgruppen, L.A Models, NYMM.

Armalis also modeled for Versace for their spring/summer collection in 2012 as well as the fall/winter collection in 2013. Making him an established face of the Versace label, Donatella Versace commented "Versace needs faces and bodies like Mantas, the strong gladiator-like build and muscular thighs,"

Personal life

Armalis's parents moved to Sweden when he was four months old. Both his parents were professional orienteers and moved due to popularity of the sport. He was encouraged to join the same sport as his parents, but picked up ice hockey instead.[15]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP W L T/OT MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
2009–10 Mora IK J20 21 — — — — — — 3.99 .878 — — — — — — — —
2010–11 Mora IK J20 19 — — — — — — 3.45 .897 — — — — — — — —
2011–12 Mora IK J20 14 3 10 1 838 55 0 3.94 .854 — — — — — — — —
2011–12 Söderhamn/Ljusne Div.1 1 0 1 0 60 5 0 5.00 .857 — — — — — — — —
2011–12 Borlänge HF Div.1 1 0 0 1 61 5 0 5.00 .857 — — — — — — — —
2012–13 Tranås AIF Div.1 33 — — — 1,967 — 3 2.62 .915 5 — — — — — 3.80 .901
2013–14 Mora IK Allsv 40 — — — — — — 2.20 .926 5 — — — — — 4.33 .857
2014–15 Djurgårdens IF SHL 20 7 10 0 1,050 54 2 3.09 .905 — — — — — — — —
2015–16 Djurgårdens IF SHL 34 16 16 0 1,986 80 2 2.42 .918 3 0 3 178 11 0 3.71 .895
2016–17 San Jose Barracuda AHL 24 12 5 3 1,256 64 2 3.06 .885 — — — — — — — —
2017–18 Dinamo Riga KHL 12 3 5 1 577 24 0 2.50 .911 — — — — — — — —
2018–19 Skellefteå AIK SHL 32 18 14 0 1,901 69 4 2.18 .916 6 2 2 254 11 1 2.60 .904
2019–20 Skellefteå AIK J20 J20 1 — — — — — — 1.01 .972 — — — — — — — —
2019–20 Skellefteå AIK SHL 38 5 8 1 769 38 1 2.96 .880 — — — — — — — —
AHL totals 24 12 5 3 1256 64 2 3.06 .885 — — — — — — — —

Awards

References
  1. "Lindlövens IF – Söderhamn/Ljusne HC". Archived from the original on 1 June 2012.
  2. Borlänge HF – Hudiksvalls HC Archived 1 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine.
  3. "Sharks Sign Goaltender Mantas Armalis". NHL.com. 11 April 2016. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
  4. "Maple Leafs favourites to land 'model' goalie Mantas Armalis". Sportsnet.ca. 19 March 2016. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  5. "Kevin Leblanc scores in overtime for Sharks". NHL.com. 28 September 2016. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  6. "Sharks Reduce Training Camp Roster By 20 Players". SJBarracuda.com. 3 October 2016. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  7. "Sharks Issue Qualifying Offers". NHL.com. 26 June 2017. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  8. "DINAMO RĪGA komandai pievienojas vārtsargs Armalis". www.dinamoriga.lv (in Latvian). 3 October 2017. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  9. "Mantas Armalis klar för två år". www.skellefteaaik.se (in Swedish). 7 May 2018. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  10. "Tre värvningar klara". Djurgården Hockey (in Swedish). 24 March 2020. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  11. "Mantas Armalis". Elite Prospects.
  12. "INTERNATIONAL ICE HOCKEY FEDERATION – Ukraine promoted to Div. I". Archived from the original on 20 February 2014.
  13. "Lietuvos rinktinės vartininkas M. Armalis tapo "Versace" veidu". delfi.lt.
  14. "Mantas Armalis – Model". delfi.lt.
  15. "18-metis vartininkas Mantas Armalis įsitvirtino ne tik Lietuvos ledo ritulio rinktinėje, bet ir Švedijoje". 15min.lt. Archived from the original on 3 February 2014. Retrieved 21 November 2011.
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