June 6, 2012

Rookie Defenseman looking to build after NHL debut last season.

By PhiladelphiaFlyers.com

Brandon Manning got notice that he was going to be recalled to the National Hockey League for the first time the morning of Thursday, March 8.

The Flyers were facing the Florida Panthers at the Wells Fargo Center later that evening and Manning would indeed end up making his NHL debut due to injuries that forced defensemen Andrej Meszaros and Kimmo Timonen out of the lineup.

The 21-year-old Manning would go on to record nearly 15 minutes of ice-time (14:59), three shots and a plus-minus rating of plus-2 to help the Flyers to a 5-0 victory over the Panthers.

“I think I was just trying to keep it pretty simple out there,” said Manning following the game. “When I get an opportunity, I think I want to jump in there. It's part of my game that I want to contribute."

Manning would end up appearing in three more games for the Flyers during March and was recalled again as one of nine Black Aces for the Flyers Stanley Cup playoff run, but like many of the Flyers young crop of prospects, his future looks bright and his debut impressed the coaching staff.

“Mandog was terrific. He moved the puck, he generated some offense and defensively he held his own out there,” said Flyers head coach Peter Laviolette.

“Coming in for the first time is never an easy thing and I thought he did a terrific job. Played regular shifts, regular minutes and he looked good out there doing it.”

Manning spent most of the season with the club’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Adirondack Phantoms.

In his first season as a pro, he posted six goals and 13 assists for 19 points and 81 penalty minutes in 46 games for the Phantoms. Of his six goals, four were on the power play.

He signed an entry level contract with the Flyers in November of 2010 while in the middle of his junior career with the Chilliwack Bruins of the Western Hockey League.

In parts of four seasons with the WHL Bruins, Manning recorded 45 goals and 91 assists for 136 points and 415 penalty minutes in 200 games. Of his 45 goals during his junior career, 27 of them came on the power play.

After being one of 12 rookies to suit up for the Flyers this past season, Manning will certainly be one of the young stars at September’s training camp to build on his brief stay in Orange & Black in 2012-13.