Shoots Left Height 1.94 m SHL team Djurgardens IF Weight 88 kg | National team Lithuania Positions Goaltender Name Mantas Armalis | |
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Born 6 September 1992 (age 31)
Plunge, Lithuania ( 1992-09-06 ) Profiles | ||
Meet the World's Hottest Hockey Player | Cosmopolitan
Mantas Armalis (born 6 September 1992) is a Lithuanian professional ice hockey goaltender and male model. He last played for the San Jose Barracuda of the American Hockey League (AHL) and was under contract to the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played in various Swedish ice hockey leagues and most recently played for the Djurgårdens IF team in top Swedish league SHL.
Contents
- Meet the Worlds Hottest Hockey Player Cosmopolitan
- Sweden
- NHL
- International play
- Modeling
- Personal life
- Awards
- References
Sweden
Armalis began his career with the Djurgården's under-16 squad during the 2007–2008 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 2011–2012 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 full 60:00 minutes. On 2011-11-30 he played one more game while on loan to Division 1C team Borlänge HF against Hudiksvalls HC. His team lost 6 – 5 in overtime, Armalis again made 30 saves on 35 shots. He started 2012–2013 season on loan to Tranås AIF and after 18 games of theregular 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 4 losses and they currently fight for a playoff spot, while Mantas goes away to help Lithuanian national team in Olympic qualifiers.
NHL
On 11 April 2016, it was announced that Armalis signed an entry-level contract with the San Jose Sharks. Prior to signing with the Sharks, the Toronto Maple Leafs were considered favourites to land Armalis. Armalis made his debut for the Sharks in a preseason game against the Vancouver Canucks where he saved 6 shots out of 7, while the Sharks won. On 3 October 2016, Armalis was assigned to the Sharks' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate San Jose Barracuda. 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.
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. He was named Best Goalkeeper of the tournament at 2012 IIHF Ice Hockey U20 World Championship Division II Group A in Ukraine.
Modeling
Armalis participated in several Versace runway shows during Milan Fashion Week. 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' parents moved to Sweden when he was 4 months old. Both his parents were professional orienteers and moved due to popularity of the sport. Mantas was encouraged to join the same sport as his parents, but picked up ice hockey instead.