Mantas Armalis

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Mantas Armalis
Born (1992-09-06) 6 September 1992 (age 32)
Plungė, Lithuania
Height 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight 194 lb (88 kg; 13 st 12 lb)
Position Goaltender
Catches Left
team
Former teams
Free agent
Djurgårdens IF
Dinamo Riga
Skellefteå AIK
Leksands IF
National teamFlag of Lithuania.svg  Lithuania
NHL draft Undrafted
Playing career 2007present

Mantas Armalis (born 6 September 1992) is a Lithuanian professional ice hockey goaltender who is an unrestricted free agent. He most recently played for Leksands 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).

Contents

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] On 13 April 2022, he signed a three-year contract with Leksands IF of the SHL. [11]

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. [12] He was named Best Goalkeeper of the tournament at 2012 IIHF Ice Hockey U20 World Championship Division II Group A in Ukraine. [13]

Modeling

Armalis participated in several Versace runway shows during Milan Fashion Week. [14] [15] 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. [16]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season TeamLeagueGPWLT/OTMINGA SO GAA SV% GPWLMINGASOGAASV%
2009–10 Mora IK J20 213.99.878
2010–11Mora IKJ20193.45.897
2011–12Mora IKJ201431018385503.94.854
2011–12Söderhamn/Ljusne Div.1 101060505.00.857
2011–12 Borlänge HF Div.1100161505.00.857
2012–13 Tranås AIF Div.1331,96732.62.91553.80.901
2013–14 Mora IK Allsv 402.20.92654.33.857
2014–15 Djurgårdens IF SHL 2071001,0505423.09.905
2015–16 Djurgårdens IFSHL34161601,9868022.42.9183031781103.71.895
2016–17 San Jose Barracuda AHL 2412531,2566423.06.885
2017–18 Dinamo Riga KHL 123515772402.50.911
2018–19 Skellefteå AIK SHL32181401,9016942.18.9166222541112.60.904
2019–20Skellefteå AIKJ2011.01.972
2019–20 Skellefteå AIKSHL385817693812.96.880
2020–21 Djurgårdens IFSHL31161301,7927612.55.909312178602.02.934
2021–22 Djurgårdens IFSHL36132202,04911013.22.900
2022–23 Leksands IF SHL41241602,3288642.22.920312190702.21.883
2023–24 Leksands IFSHL25111301,4646222.54.899202115502.59.857
2024–25 Leksands IFSHL1651109334713.02.880
AHL totals2412531,2566423.06.885

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. Archived from the original on 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. Brasar, Richard (13 April 2022). "Mantas Armalis klar för Leksands IF". Leksands IF (in Swedish). Retrieved 13 April 2022.
  12. "Mantas Armalis". Elite Prospects.
  13. "INTERNATIONAL ICE HOCKEY FEDERATION – Ukraine promoted to Div. I". Archived from the original on 20 February 2014.
  14. "Lietuvos rinktinės vartininkas M. Armalis tapo "Versace" veidu". delfi.lt.
  15. "Mantas Armalis – Model". delfi.lt.
  16. "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.