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*Jayba1t* · 07-31-2024, 11:41 PM

Following the conclusion of the S77, center Max Manning has chosen to retire and forgo his additional season of playing eligiblity. With the skates now up, I figured it'd be a good time to do look back on his career and break it down through each season.

Season 60
Drafted in the 5th round, at 56th overall, Manning would become a member of the Colorado Raptors. As a super late entry into the draft, he may have slid under the radar of most teams but at least he had a place to now call home. On a relatively strong Raptors rosters that were stacked with promising SHL prospects, Manning saw limited time and ice deployment in his first season. Averaging under 12 minutes a game, he was able to score 3 goals and add 15 assists. He was held off the scoresheet in 7 games throughout the playoffs.

Season 61
With older players graduating from Dino Academy, Manning was tasked with much more responsibility. In 2nd line minutes and 2nd unit power play duties he put up a respectable 54 points consisting of 20 goals and 34 assists. Along with steady improvements Colorado had one of their best seasons in franchise history, posting a .700 win percentage. Manning was the 3rd most productive player on the team. In the playoffs the Raptors went a deep run ultimately falling short at the semifinals. Manning would score 6 points in 9 games.

Season 62
Now at a maxed 425 player, Manning encountered some struggles in his 3rd season. His offensive production across the board regressed in all aspects, but did get hampered by some poor luck. He would play important minutes on PP1 and PK1, as well as the 1st line center. Colorado still played well enough so other players were able to contribute to the scoring where Manning could not. The playoffs were also a better showing with 7 points in 10 games, a slight increase from the season prior.

Season 63
Final season in the J for Manning before his time is up. He would end it off with a bang, notching career highs in goals (22), assists (43), points (65), shots (214) and power play points (11). This helped him to his first All-Star nomination. Developing great chemistry with wingers Hinata and Wamy, Manning found his stride as a playmaking center. In addition he had the honor of donning the C for Colorado following some graduations of the older classes. A 4 star cup was something Manning always eyed down, but unfortunately despite their best efforts Colorado got knocked out in the 1st round.

Season 64
In the S61 SHL entry draft Manning would end up getting drafted at 20th overall, last pick in the 1st round by the Seattle Argonauts. Manning enjoyed his talks with the management group and was excited to play in Seattle. Naturally there would be some struggles jumping from the juniors to the big leagues. For his first season, he managed 16 goals, 18 assists and 34 points, again, respectable numbers. His first taste of playoff action netted him 4 points in 7 games.

Season 65
The sophomore struggle was real. Manning again regressed from his previous season, down to 28 points and under 10 goals, only a measly 8. 4 points in 6 playoff games was a bit better. However behind the scenes something was bubbling in Seattle. They had a core of recent draftees featuring Fischermann, Miller, Ramsbottom while also having established veterans Podcalzone, Salming, Murphy, Hobbes, Slate and co driving the team. 90 points was a franchise high for the Argos and things would only look up from here.

Season 66
Manning had a partial breakthrough this season eclipsing the 50 point mark. He just remained outside the top 5 point producers on Seattle but managed this with again 2nd line minutes and 2nd PP duty, meanwhile also finding his groove with linemates Podcalzone and Salming. Now the real banger here was Seattle finally breaking through to the finals. Despite falling short in the finals in 7, the team knew they could carry this momentum forward. Manning was a good secondary scorer, providing 14 points in 22 games.

Season 67
With 18 goals, 33 assists and 51 points, Manning managed to keep up his role as a secondary scorer. Several acquisitions such as Lilja and Mihailov pushed him down the depth chart a bit but he was still able to chip in where he could. But Manning put that aside cause for the first time in FRANCHISE HISTORY THE SEATTLE ARGONAUTS WON THE CUP!!! All the playoff eliminations of the past, all the upsets and disappointment, helped make the team stronger. The Argos gave it their all and succeeded. Now for the first time ever Manning was a point-per-game player in any set of games, regular season or playoffs, with 24 points in 23 games. Maybe this was a sign to come.

Season 68
And there it was. After 8 seasons of hard work, grinding and perserverance Manning found himself atop of the SHL. This would be his prime season. And he sure did make the most of it. 66 goals, 47 assists, 113 points. 48 power play points (power play merchant). 250 shots. A 26% shooting (PDO merchant). A +46 (not a good stat but still). All while going 56% in the faceoff dot and playing all duties, 1st line everything. Credit to his linemates Podcalzone and Salming in supporting him too. Oh and the SEATTLE ARGONAUTS WON THE CUP AGAIN!!! REPEAT CHAMPIONS!!! Wowza. Manning would now be a key contributor, with 32 points in 21 playoff games. He's prayed for times like these. And the awards came rolling in as well, recognizing the season he had.

An All Star nomination. An All-SHL 1st team center. The Jay McDonald Trophy for top goal scorer. The Sergei Karpotsov for top point scorer. The Sarmad Khan for Player's MVP. The Aidan Richan for Most Improved. The Anton Razov for Playoffs MVP. The Cole Reinhart Trophy for Western Conference Champions. The President's Trophy for Top Team in the regular season. And the cherry on top The Challenge Cup. Honestly an insane single season run here. It would have been even funnier if the Ron Mexico nomination was a win, but to be fair Jager also had an phenomenal season himself. 66 goals and 26 power play goals still stand as SHL single season records as of writing, but the points record has been broken on multiple occasions.

Doesn't get much better than that, and Manning knew it. What goes up, must come down. But not for a few seasons hopefully.

Season 69
Still in prime shape Manning had himself a 2nd straight 100+ point season. 55 goals, 54 assists and 109 points, leading the team in scoring, all while playing big minutes. Again with his trusty linemates they propelled Seattle to another successful regular season. In the playoffs they got eliminated in the semis, being so close to 4 straight finals appearances. 26 points in 16 games still proved that Manning was a key cog in the team. On the awards side, 55 goals was good enough for another Jay McDonald, a Sarmad Khan nomination, and an SHL All-Star plus 2nd All Star Team placement. With other players now on the rise, Manning was still able to keep up. I didn't mention the IIHF/WJC much but Canada did win a gold medal this year!

Season 70
A 3rd straight 100+ point season for Manning, which was huge for him. Now facing regression, Manning still mustered 63 goals, 47 assists and 110 points on the season. All the struggles in the past now paid off for him, with 3 superb seasons strung together. In the playoffs Seattle was sent home after 2 rounds, but again Manning led the team in scoring with 21 in 13. At this point it became evident that Seattle's historic run of the late 60s was going to come to an end sooner than later, especially as the veterans would keep aging and a depleted farm system.

Season 71
The end of era became a harsh reality for the Argonauts. They would post their first losing season in almost a decade, and Manning would take a slight step back. A 40-40 season resulted in 87 points, which was still very good, but wasn't enough to help the team keep up with some of the up and coming heavyweights of the SHL. One round was all that Seattle was able to manage before getting eliminated. Manning would still keep up that point-per-game pace in the playoffs.

At this point I also start to get busy IRL so the earning slowed down a bit.

Season 72
Following S71 and with it being clear that Seattle would be heading into a retool of sorts, Manning was traded to the Winnipeg Aurora. He knew this was likely coming, but also was happy to enjoy a change of scenery. Packing his bags and moving up North, Manning would be a very solid supporting member of the Winnipeg Aurora, who themselves were looking for pieces to complete a loaded roster. In his first season he would score 33 assists, 50 points and 83 points, a top 3 points contributor, mostly at even strength. A steady PPG line in the playoffs as well, but the Aurora fell short.

Season 73
Back to redeem themselves in the playoffs, Manning would just squeak over the PPG mark for the regular season while Winnipeg had another winning season. The regression was now knocking, and the fall-off would just unravel from here. But as a team, the Winnipeg Aurora WOULD WIN THE CHALLENGE CUP!!! It was very nice to see Winnipeg finally breakthrough, after many stumped attempts since the late 60s as well. Same story PPG in the playoffs too.

Now I got really busy and basically stopped earning here. I don't remember much in the later seasons so I decided to lump them together.

Season 74-77
Yeah long story short Manning got really washed and fell off hard. Manning got traded to Baltimore, so in 264 games as a member of the Platoon, 206 points. Not bad, but a far cry from Manning's glory days. At this point, he was just there to be a warm body for a team. Plus I stopped earning so that didn't help at all. Last season was one of his worst, managing only 29 points. And at this point, Manning knew his time had come. Although some teams were still interested in his services, it was time to hang up the skates and move on. It was an exciting career, with the highest of the highs and some lows. So with that, let's recap his whole career.

Career Regular Season
14 seasons | 924 games played | 405 goals | 539 assists | 944 points | +270 | 2657 shots | 1167 hits | 544 blocks | 457 PIMs | 54.4% FO

Career Playoffs
14 appearances | 204 games played | 102 goals | 105 assists | 207 points | +39 | 603 shots | 253 hits | 139 blocks | 62 PIMs | 50.3% FO

Team Awards
3x Challenge Cup Winner (S67, S68, S72)
4x Cole Reinhart Winner (S66, S67, S68, S72)
1x Mathias Chouinard Winner (S76)
2x President's Trophy Winner (S68, S76)

Individual Awards
3x Jay McDonald Winner (S68, S69, S70)
1x Sergei Karpotsov Winner (S68)
1x Sarmad Khan Winner (S68)
1x Aidan Richan Winner (S68)
1x Anton Razov Winner (S68)
2x Ron Mexico Nominee (S68, S70)
2x Sarmad Khan Nominee (S69, S70)
2x 1st All-Star Team (S68, S70)
1x 2nd All-Star Team (S69)
4x All Star Game (S68, S69, S70, S71)
Single Season Goals Record Holder (S68)
Single Season Power Play Goals Record Holder (S68)

I didn't mention international play too much but ended up doing alright I think. The stats are messed up on the index but the awards came out to be 1x Gold, 2x Silver and 1x Bronze.

And that's it. Although the fall off was hard, Manning's prime was short and sweet, managing to experience the greatest peaks one could ask for. Especially S68. A perfect combination of finding the right team, at the right time, the GMs, the linemates, FHM luck and so much else. The season to remember for sure in my career.

Now for the long list of shoutouts

@"Jumbobone19" you were the first GM of mine and in general a Raptor GM GOATs, amazing work throughout the early 60s, and still I believe you have been GM for the longest period of time, at 8 seasons, while also maintaining one of the highest winning % among COL GMs. Thanks for the build advice and just consistently putting out competitive Coolorado teams. IA whisperer as well

@Ruggsy you were the first person to say hi to me when I joined, will always remember that. Very good graphics assistant. You were the person who encouraged me to submit the greatest emote in Colorado history that is :coolorado: and unleashing my inner MS paint skills into the world. And then supporting me through my Co GMing days too

@micool132 it has been a pleasure being your rock. Been super active in the LR from my day one, super consistent over the last 3 years. I know you will always win the cup no matter what the SHL or FHM thinks. I'm glad to see that you are agreeing with the fact that I am the WOAT GM in Raptors history, this needs to be known more

@NYR73 you were the best co GM I have ever had (I've only had one). I am also glad to see you agree that I am the WOAT GM in Raptors history, but you might be the GOAT for winning dat cup. WOAT to GOAT

@Takk806 the only 1st OA I think I'll ever make and you've made me look like a genius, glad to see you carry on the mantle of COL GM lineage from co GM to GM

And then other Dinos in the LR I'm glad to have talked to you about Raptors games or GMing advice or requesting that you clown on me or random things at some point @LordBirdman @MuNk22 @Esso2264 @Canadian_Goose25 @JT3 @Punk42AE @goldenglutes @ThisSeemsFishy @Gordon Bombay and many others (I'm sorry if I forget you, promise its not personal) Even though I've been more quiet in recent season know that it's been a pleasure getting to interact, it's what makes the Dino LR so great

@notorioustig as I said earlier in a media you were a 400 IQ GM. I believe you are the only one in the FHM era to repeat championships so you definitely knew what you were doing when you built up one of the better teams throughout the late 60s @adamantium too after Tig retired, all that powerplay stat padding couldn't have happened without your guys' mastery of FHM

And then the rest of Seattle @yosh @Salming @efischermann @Sebster @retuperkele @Buster @Urq660 @sve7en and others too, loved talking and sharing the LR with you all. Thanks for making my tenure with the Argos an enjoyable stay and helping me stat pad on the power play. And of course there is that legendary championship run, the S67/S68 championship banners will fly forever, perhaps the highlight of my career

Thanks @Ace @RashfordU @sköldpaddor for helping me out on Winnipeg as well, despite me slowly slipping in activity. Got busy IRL and now looking back I wished I had done a bit more. Happy that Winnipeg won a cup after all those seasons as well!

On the Platoon I really began to fall off and just stopped earning sadge but thanks @hhh81 for giving me a place to wrap up my career. Oh and you the Colorado OG, part of the Dino LR too, so also appreciate the talks we've had in Colorado, a bit on Seattle and then Baltimore.

And then finally to @JURT - If you hadn't sent me that message at 3am on June 13th, 2021 using the site email, none of this would have ever happened. But you took the time anyways and here I am. Without that, who knows, maybe I would have just given up and forgetten about the site entirely. Thank you for doing so and hopefully I made that 56th overall pick worth it.

It's been a pleasure everyone o7

***Takk806*** · 07-31-2024, 11:53 PM

And to think that a late 5th rounder had such an amazing career. Crazy!

Congratz Jay on a great career. I'm so glad that you trusted me enough to join your Dino squad. You were a quality over quantity type of GM and you managed to build a great pack of Raptors who still are around and active in the LR to this day! I'll make sure to make you proud.

I'm not crying. You're crying!!!