When Brendan Manning first came to the Northeast for hockey, he wasn’t sure where the path would take him, but he knew he had come for a purpose.

Growing up in Arizona, Manning first pit-stopped in Maine for two years of 18U AAA. Describing it as his “first exposure to more defined hockey,” and with a goal of playing at the highest level, juniors was the next destination. Manning prioritized finding “the right fit.”

Enter the Vermont Lumberjacks.

“It was the stereotypical ‘I had a good feeling about it,’” Manning describes. “It was the way the guys interacted. A lot of P guys were out there with EHL practice and you couldn’t tell. It wasn’t separated or anything and that’s something that stuck out to me.”

Although unsure of which team he would end up on, Manning was confident he was in control of his path. 

“There’s a lot of information and a lot of stuff that gets said in junior hockey, but they never made any false promises to me. I was comfortable with knowing it was depending on me rather than any kind of guarantees.”

With a strong forward group filled with ageouts at the Eastern Hockey League (EHL) level, Manning debuted in the Eastern Hockey League Premier (EHLP) to the tune of a 5-point game, setting the tone for his rookie year. He would embark on an all-star season, finishing top five in the league in points with 26 goals and 39 assists, leading his team to a second place finish in the North Division. 

“I realized early on that I’d have a lot of opportunities here,” Manning recalls. “I got to play power play, penalty kill, six-on-five, so I was getting a lot of exposure to different situations. It was so helpful building that muscle memory so when I was put in that situation later on, I know I’ve experienced it.”

Taking advantage of ample ice-time, an open workout room, and close player-coach relationships, Manning felt prepared to take the next step in his age-out year. And it didn’t take him long to prove that, scoring the game winning goal in his EHL debut in the 2023-24 season. 

“I knew I’d probably make the jump, but I treated that summer as if I didn’t know if I’d even make the team. The comfortability of it all made it seamless. I knew I had friends there, I knew the coaches, and I knew I’d fit in.”

In addition, Manning notes he was surrounded by teammates who had made the jump from EHLP to EHL. Players like Isaac Grondin, Trent King, Hayden Bullock, Matt Pacheco, and others on Vermont’s squad had been in Manning’s shoes before. 

Manning finished first on the EHL team in points, notching seventeen goals and 23 assists. He also earned the inaugural “Pipeline Player of the Year” Award, honoring a player making the jump from EHLP to EHL to NCAA.

That NCAA journey is now taking place at Saint Anselm College, where Manning has already amassed twelve points in 23 games. As he contacted schools throughout his age-out campaign, he believed his ability to develop was on full display, having ascended to each level, making an impact each time. 

And for Manning, developing had always been the goal.

Photo/Dan Hickling/Hickling Images

— Jake Basile

(February 24, 2025)