If Brandon Manning could turn back time a year, he would.
At the rate he's stuffing pucks into nets in this season, there's no doubt if he was a year younger the Chilliwack Bruins defenceman would be in uniform for Team WHL tonight at CN Centre (7 p.m.) when they play Russia in the Subway Super Series.
Manning leads all WHL defenceman with 11 goals and 25 points in 18 games. The 20-year-old from Prince George would be a no-brainer to face the Russians if not for the fact the Subway Series is strictly for the 19-and-younger crowd. Players on both sides tonight will be trying to earn invitations for their respective world junior team training camps.
So while Prince George minor hockey alumni, Ryan Howse of the Bruins and Brett Connolly of the Cougars, try to impress the Hockey Canada scouts, Manning will be watching the game on TV.
"Too bad I'm not there, I wish I could change my birth certificate," said Manning. "It would have been something nice to come to last year but I've got other things going forward so it's not that big of a deal."
Manning is billeted with the owner of an audio-video store in Chilliwack and as captain of the Bruins he's called a mandatory team meeting for tonight at the store, where the Bruins team will watch the Sportsnet broadcast from CN Centre on a 100-inch projection screen. He's told his teammates stories of the wild atmosphere a full-house of hockey fans can generate in his hometown, a scene not repeated since the Cougars made it to the third round of the playoffs in 2007. The Cougars hope to use the sold-out game as a springboard to launch a bid to host the Memorial Cup.
"With Brett in P.G. with the Cougars the last couple years, the fans haven't been there, but to hear this game pretty well sold out right away shows the hockey fans are there and people are out to support Ryan and Brett," said Manning. "People love their hockey up there and hopefully this will put Prince George on the map with those guys."
The much-improved Bruins have made some major strides forward this season and are now just a point behind the Cougars and Kamloops Blazers for second place in the B.C. Division. Spiced by Manning's offensive talents and a top-10 scorer (Howse has already reached the 30-point mark), Chilliwack's power play ranks No. 2 in the WHL behind Seattle, operating at a 27.3 per cent success rate.
"We returned most of the core group from last year and we've got some impressive rookies that have come in and helped us," said Manning. "Our power play has shown how much chemistry and coaching we have behind us and that's been a big part of our game.
"I've got a few power-play goals and playing with guys like Ryan, Roman Horak and Robin Soudek, our chemistry from last year has really clicked. I've been given the opportunity to play the power play on both units and that's paid off for me."
Manning was a forward until his first season of midget hockey in Prince George. His first full season as a defenceman was in 2007-08 with the Prince George Spruce Kings, where Kings assistant coach Stew Malgunas was his mentor.
"Stew really got the ball rolling for me and a few young guys like Wes McLeod in Prince George," Manning said. "After practice he'd always take us aside for 10 minutes, whether to work on our shots or footspeed, and he was great for teaching me the game. I trained with him the three previous summers and he was just such as great guy to be around. I appreciated everything he did for me.
"Growing up watching the Cougars and the WHL, you always kind of wished you would be there and you see how fast guys move on from there into pro careers and I'm lucky I had the chance to step into a good opportunity in Chilliwack."
His second season as Bruins' captain has not been without its challenges, but Manning loves his role as the designated leader. That 'C' on his jersey will look good on his resume when he shops around for a free agent deal with an NHL team.
Manning was invited as a free agent to the New York Rangers training camp and missed the Bruins' first two games when he was in New York. The Rangers wanted him to sign a minor league contract, but Manning and his agent Gerry Johannson decided to hold off to allow Manning to improve his position with another year in the WHL. Looking at his numbers, that appears to have been a wise move.
"Usually around Christmastime, contract talks start," Manning said.
"I know teams are interested but I'm just trying to work on my game. I've had a good start and I just want to keep getting better as a hockey player."
