Wladyslaw Mintus Bio

[mintusaurus 36]

Wldayslaw Mintus was born on the outskirts of Detroit Michigan in 2005. He was named after his Grandfather's brother on his Dad’s side of the family, which was heavily Polish.

 

When he was an infant he went through several open heart surgeries to fix a congenital heart defect. He was in and out of the hospital in those infancy years, but came out on top, and was able to go on living a normal life. During the winter months when he was in elementary school, Mintus and his friends would go out on the lake in their subdivision and clear off a rink, where they would play until dark on most days. His parents saw how much fun he was having out on the ice, so when Wlad asked them if he could join a hockey learn to play clinic, they said that he could. He joined the Little Caesars Hockey clinic when he was 10, and started to learn more about playing the sport of hockey. After his 10-week clinic, he was excited to continue playing the game. He joined up with a Little Caesars PeeWee house team when the next registration came about. By this time he had really shown an interest in the defensive aspects of the game. Defense was always a position that he enjoyed playing on the lake and he idolized Elite Swedish defenseman, Nicklas Lidstrom, from his hometown Detroit Redwings. He was also very aware of Jiri Fischer of Detroit, who had collapsed and had a heart attack on the bench during a game, which was linked to heart issues. He too was a defenseman, and with both Fischer and himself having heart issues, it helped to link him to the position. 

 

After excelling in the PeeWee house league, his coaches encouraged him to join the Little Caesars 14U Bantam travel team. It was a change of pace for Wlad, in a big way. The players on these teams were faster and more skilled, so he needed to adapt. He started practicing more in his free time outside of the rink. Outside of the Winter months, he played street hockey with his friends, and joined inline hockey leagues. During the Winter, he convinced his dad to let him flood the backyard so that he could make a rink. He also joined up with some of his friends and teammates and started to play pond hockey tournaments around the state. His efforts paid off and he was invited to try out for the 16U Midget Minor AAA Little Caesars team. Unfortunately he did not make the team. The coach of the 15 year old Midget AAA team thought that he could do well and increase his skill set and help the team at the same time. So after talking with Wlad he was able to convince him to suit up for that team for the season with hopes of joining the 16U team the following season. He had a strong season on the Midget team and greatly increased his defensive skills and started to add some offense to his game. He had an admiral shot from the point, and was a quarterback on the teams PP1 line, with his passing abilities and offensive zone awareness. 

 

The following year, he made the 16U team and showed a lot of prowess with his defensive game. Unbeknownst to him, he was being followed by the US National Development Team Program. After he impressed his coaches on the Midget team, one of them floated his name to some connections he had at USA Hockey. After a successful campaign with Little Caesars 16U AAA team, which saw the team win the Michigan State championship in the 16U league. They went on to play in the USA Hockey National Championship Tournament, where they unfortunately came in 2nd place. Wlad put up 2G 3A for 5 points in 6 games in the tournament. In the off-season Wlad was approached by the USNDTP and was invited to join the U17 team. 

With the USNDTP Wlad was able to access skills and training he hadn’t before. He began working with a nutritionist and personal trainer. He gained muscle and was able to increase his stamina. His defensive game increased and his Hockey IQ began to shine. In the offensive zone his awareness became more astute and he began using methods of his Idol, Lidstrom. He would take a slapshot just off to the side of the net, playing it off the boards for a winger down low. He would end his first season with the USNDTP with a stat line of 5G 10A in 35 games and being a +4.

 

The next season he would return to the USNDTP, this time on the U18 team. During his last season with the team, he led the defense with 8G and 18A for 26 points in 35 games. The team would also win Silver at the U18 World Championships, where Wlad would put up 3G and 7A for 10 points.

 

After a successful Minor League career, Wladyslaw looked to go pro, and announced he was joining the VHLM. He was scooped up by the Mississauga Hounds in the 92nd season, where so far he has put up 1G and 14A in 30 games. So far he is enjoying his time with the Hounds and is renting a place in the Downtown City Centre.