Torrent’s Mikyla Grant-Mentis returns after five-game absense

Some reinforcements for a struggling team about to play in one of the PWHL’s marquee games this season.

The Seattle Torrent announced that the team has activated forward Mikyla Grant-Mentis from long-term injured reserve. In response, the team has removed forward Marah Wagner from its main roster, placing her on the reserve list.

The news means Grant-Mentis will be eligible to play in Seattle’s matchup against the New York Sirens in front of what’s expected to be a record-breaking crowd at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night.

Grant-Mentis suffered an upper-body injury in a game on March 13 when Seattle was taking on the Minnesota Frost. Late in the second period, Grant-Mentis was run into the boards by Frost forward Britta Curl-Salemme. MGM went hard into the dasher and struggled to return to her feet.

The Brampton, Ont. native had to be assisted when leaving the ice, while favoring her right shoulder. Curl-Salemme was handed a minor penalty for boarding on the play.

It has been a solid bounce-back season for Grant-Mentis. In her first season with one of the PWHL’s expansion franchises, she’s provided some offensive spark for a Seattle team that has been inconsistent offensively. In 18 games, the 27-year-old has scored two goals and three assists for five points, scoring a goal against the Boston Fleet on March 11. She has a plus/minus of -3 while averaging 15:24 of ice time.

In the five games MGM has missed, Seattle has gone 1-0-0-4, getting shut out by the Ottawa Charge last Sunday.

Wagner has been on the Torrent’s main roster all season after earning a spot on the roster after being an invite to training camp. The 25-year-old from Seattle hadn’t scored a point in appearing in 20 of the team’s first 23 games this year.

The Torrent (6-1-2-14) sit last in the PWHL, 12 points back of the last playoff spot.

Read more PWHL stories on DFO