MANGIAPANE
proves he’s not “too small” to play in the bigs By Jeremy Freeborn photos by gerry thomas | courtesy calgary flames hockey club Andrew Mangiapane is now in his fourth season with the Calgary Flames. He was drafted in the sixth round of the 2015 National Hockey League Entry Draft. At 5’10”, 185 pounds, things have not always come easy for him and as one of the team’s smaller players, the Toronto native knows he has had to work extra hard in order to be counted on as a regular contributor in the Flames lineup. Mangiapane’s work ethic has been recognized by Flames fans and earned him a nickname. He has become “Bread” because in Italian, “mangia pane” means “eat bread.” When Mangiapane first heard of the nickname, he thought it was hilarious, but actually expected it. “I was laughing,” he said in an interview with Hockey Magazine Calgary. “I figured it would come eventually by having a name like that. It was definitely quite funny when I first heard it.” Mangiapane first started skating and playing hockey at two years old. His father Peter built a rink in the backyard and taught his son how to play. “I loved the game,” said Mangiapane. “I went to the rink every day and fell in love with the sport. Obviously I was pretty good growing up, so I guess that helped a bit.” Mangiapane idolized Martin St. Louis. Interestingly, before joining and starring with the Tampa Bay Lightning, St. Louis played two seasons with the Calgary Flames in 1998-99 and 1999-2000. He then was the Hart Trophy winner, Lester B. Pearson Award winner and Art Ross Trophy winner in 2004 when the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Flames in seven games to win the 2004 Stanley Cup. In addition to playing hockey, Mangiapane followed his Italian roots and played soccer in Ontario. He also played baseball, volleyball, and basketball.
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As an amateur hockey player in Ontario, Mangiapane played with the Caledon Hawks, Brampton Battalion, Markham Majors, the Mississauga Senators, the Toronto U15 AAA Titans, and the Toronto Junior Canadiens. As a teenager, Mangiapane was encouraged by many scouts to pursue hockey by getting a scholarship at the NCAA level. His future in hockey continued to look a little dim when he was not selected in the Ontario Hockey League Draft. However, the Barrie Colts took a chance and offered Mangiapane an opportunity after being impressed by his skills during a camp. At the time, the Colts head coach and director of hockey operations was former Winnipeg Jets legend and Hockey Hall of Famer Dale Hawerchuk. “Dale is a big factor of me playing in the NHL and even the OHL,” said Mangiapane. “He believed in me when no one else was. I watched him and he was my mentor. I owe him a lot and I don’t know where I would be without him.” Hawerchuk passed away in 2020 at the age of 57. It is at the junior hockey level where Mangiapane’s overall offensive skill set took over. After a respectable 51 points in 68 games during his 2013-14 OHL rookie season, he had back-to-back seasons of 100 points with the Colts. Mangiapane had 43 goals and 61 assists for 104 points in 2014-15 and 51 goals and 55 assists for 106 points in 2014-15. In 2014-15 Mangiapane finished tied for seventh in OHL scoring. He was sixth in OHL scoring in 2015-16. In his last season in the OHL, Mangiapane was also tied for second in the OHL in goals (one behind Christian Dvorak), and was named an alternate captain for the Colts by Hawerchuk.
