Sign in Subscribe
Top 25 Under 25

2022 Top 25 Under 25 | 12: Jesse Compher, 11: Mikyla Grant-Mentis

An American and a Canadian, a PHF All-Star and an Olympic medalist...what do they have in common?

Our next two on the list are big names in the women’s hockey world right now, representing two different countries, and leagues but have played against each other a time or two.

12 | Jesse Compher | Forward | Team USA | Boston University

Last season

In just 9 games with Boston University, Compher donned the ‘C’ and scored 11 points, before heading to her first Olympic Games where she had three goals and an assist to help Team USA capture a silver medal as well as tallying three points in the World Championship a year prior.

Between COVID, sustaining an injury, and bouncing around from teams and tournaments, Compher has had a lot to deal with which is why 2021 may have seemed lackluster for her, but after the Olympics and signing with a new team, I wouldn’t let that idea linger too long.

Major accomplishments

  • U18 World Junior Championship gold medals in 2016, 2017
  • 2019 Patty Kazmaier Award finalist
  • 2019 World Championship gold medal
  • 2021 World Championship silver medal
  • 2022 Olympic silver medal
  • 2021 Boston University captain
  • 2019 Hockey East First Team All-Star/

And she’s just getting started.

What comes next

A lot more medals and maybe a national championship? In her final year of NCAA eligibility, Compher is taking her efforts to the University of Wisconsin to finish out her collegiate career as a Badger, with a stacked lineup, and a good chance to win a national title. That would certainly round her out as one of the best at a young age.

She also likely has a long career on Team USA ahead of her which will surely land her with quite a few more World Championship medals, and another chance or two at Olympic gold.

Too high or too low

For right now, I think this is just right. Maybe slightly too low, but I am confident she will only rise on this list with her remaining years eligible. Compher has already had a memorable collegiate career, and with a big move to University of Wisconsin to try and chase a national title, she could cement her legacy even more.

Additionally, it feels like we’ve seen her in a USA jersey for a long time already but her time on the United States senior team is really just beginning. With plenty of experience on the big stage now, she can really only get better. Compher is capable of being a key player on the ice, one who is always going to be a big playmaker if given the time and support. I have no doubt she will prove herself worthy of our top ten.

11 | Mikyla Grant-Mentis | Forward | Toronto Six

Last season

AKA Buckey. AKA MGM Grand...in the 2021-2022 season with the Toronto Six, Grant-Mentis had 30 points in 19 games, posted many multi-goal games, and landed in the top three in almost every offensive stat you can think of. Needless to say, it was a successful season, short of winning the Isobel Cup.

She led her team, by far, in scoring as well as made a huge difference defensively for the Six. It seemed to be that wherever speed and puck handling was needed, Grant-Mentis was there whether she was going to score or not...although, she probably was.

She was named a PHF All-Star this season, where she had three points in the round robin style tournament against fellow PHF All-Stars.

Major accomplishments

  • 2021 PHF MVP
  • 2021 PHF goals & points leader
  • 2021 PHF Newcomer of the Year
  • Merrimack College All-Time Leading Goal Scorer/

While that list is massive, it doesn’t even truly cover how great Grant-Mentis is. Most recently, she signed a one-year deal with the Buffalo Beauts for $80,000, the highest salary by far in North American professional women’s hockey that we know of.

What comes next

Probably a handful of PHF titles, broken records, awards, endorsement deals, and if we’re lucky, seeing Grant-Mentis represent Canada on an international roster.

Grant-Mentis making the move back to the Buffalo Beauts where she started her PHF career is big news and while she certainly shined on the Six, she will completely transform this team into a big threat in the PHF. We’re definitely going to get some highlight reels out of Buffalo this season, that is for sure.

While it has seemed pretty unlikely that PHF players share space with their national teams, Mikyla Grant-Mentis might be the only one to break that streak...and she should. That’s a little bit of wishful thinking on my part, but I hope I can manifest it correctly.

Too high or too low

Too low, for sure. Players like Grant-Mentis that aren’t centralized on their nation’s international roster will inherently always be ranked too low because they aren’t playing on the ‘world’s greatest stage’...or something. But make no mistake, Grant-Mentis is the real deal and I’m convinced blindfolded, one one foot, would make Connor McDavid look like he’s playing peewee hockey.

Unlike others that are ranked too low on this list, she doesn’t have much more time to rise in the ranks and has already done more than enough to prove herself worthy. She is simply one of the best in the game right now on any ice, that is just a fact.

Read next

Comments ()