Moe Mantha joins Windsor Spitfires

Moe Mantha (right) and Spitfires owner Steve Riolo (left) at a press conference in Windsor on Wednesday. Mantha is the OHL club's new coach and general manager. Photo courtesy the Windsor Spitfires.

Sturgeon Falls hockey icon, Moe Mantha Jr. has become the new head coach and general manager of the Windsor Spitfires.

The report out of the Windsor Star says Mantha has signed a three year deal with the club.

"The dual role is going to be a learning experience," Mantha told the Windsor Star.

Mantha, who holds dual citizenship, was born in Ohio when his father, Moe Sr., was playing in the Montreal Canadiens' system.

He considers Sturgeon Falls, where his family runs Laurentide golf course, to be his home town although he lives in Ann Arbor, Mich., with his wife and three kids. This spring his son Devin was drafted in the OHL draft by the Belleville Bulls.

He played two years of junior hockey in Toronto before Winnipeg made him a second-round pick in the 1980 NHL draft.

Mantha played more than 650 games in the NHL over 16 seasons before beginning his coaching career in 1992.

He has served as a head coach in the American Hockey League, East Coast league as well as two seasons as head coach of the United States Under-17 hockey program.

His last coaching experience, however, was with the Saginaw Spirit where he coached for about half a season in 2003-2004.

Mantha told BayToday.ca earlier this spring that he missed coaching last year and was working hard to find another job. It didn't take him long.

"He offers a wealth of experience from all different levels of hockey," Spitfires owner Steve Riolo said.

Mantha takes over a Spitfires team that came back from a 3-0 deficit in the first round of the OHL playoffs against the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, but bowed out in the second round to the mighty London Knights.

With files from the Windsor Star