By Jeff D'Andrea

‘I wanted to quit hockey,’ Manson talks resilience with Carlton students

Jun 14, 2018 | 5:00 PM

Prince Albert’s Josh Manson has emerged as the archetypal modern NHL shutdown defenceman. He’s been described as a hitting machine, a puck magnet, and a human eraser. The Anaheim Ducks seem to be big fans of his as well, signing him to a four-year, $16 million deal that kicks in at the start of next season. 

But before any of that was possible, Manson was ready to quit hockey back when he was 13 years old.

It wasn’t his father Dave, who played 1,103 games in the NHL, who gave him the ‘don’t quit’ pep-talk. Instead it was Lana, Josh’s mother, who convinced him to stick with the game.

Josh returned to his alma mater at Carlton Comprehensive for their annual sports banquet Wednesday. He spoke to the students about the conversation that saved his career before it began and the importance of not giving up on your dreams.

“She was the one that sat me down and said ‘you’re too young to quit now. You don’t know what you can be. You don’t know the potential that you hold. You may not be the best now, but who knows how great you could be? Don’t give up on it now because you could regret it for the rest of your life,’” Manson said. “I think that can translate not just to me, but to any other young athlete out there; any kid who’s thinking of playing a sport.”

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Even though Manson wisely took his mother’s advice, things didn’t get much easier for him after that. Manson didn’t make the cut for the Prince Albert Mintos in his 15-year-old season, and when he made the roster as a 16-year-old there was in-fighting among the Mintos brass arguing Manson still wasn’t ready for Midget AAA hockey. Manson said he heard that story years later.

He was cut from the Prince Albert Raiders and prevented from following his father’s footprints down that path. He also didn’t get camp invites to Hockey Canada or SaskFirst.

The wildest gambler in the world probably wouldn’t have bet a cent on Manson making it to the NHL at that point.

When asked if he ever thought he would get to where he is now in the game of hockey, Manson said he didn’t try to think too far ahead to the NHL and focused on what was right in front of him.

“I never said to myself, ‘oh, you’re never going to make it,’ but I also didn’t think ‘you’re going to be in the NHL one day.’ I just kept working,” he said.

“I just looked at every next step, every next league that I wanted to make, I just set it as a goal. I knew if I got to that point, all I had to do is learn the game and get to the next level. Every step of the way was another goal for me, and eventually I made my full goal of making it into the NHL.”

Manson’s journey to the NHL was unorthodox to say the least. After the Mintos, he played with the Salmon Arm Silverbacks of the BCHL. That’s where he now-famously converted from his usual position of forward over to defence.

Then in 2014, three years after the Anaheim Ducks drafted him, Manson finally got signed by the team.

Manson said he hopes his story of perseverence can inspire young athletes to take his mother Lana’s advice and not give up.

“Just keep working at it,” Manson said. “Personally, I was never the best at what I did when I was younger; best hockey player, best volleyball player, whatever it may be. But I just stuck to it, kept working at it, and dedicated my time to it. I made a couple sacrifices and it ended up paying off.”

Jeff.dandrea@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @jeff_paNOW