Observations:

March 2016 – Manning has made the jump to the NHL this season, playing in 44 games thus far. Through those 44 games, the reliable two-way defensemen has six points, 56 penalty minutes, and is a plus-five. Manning has not shown the offence at the NHL level yet that he has displayed in the junior and minor league levels, however he also has not been utilized in as much of an offensive role with the emergence of Gostisbehere. – Lee Rayson

Jan 2015- Manning has been rewarded for his excellent first half of the season by being selected as an AHL All-Star. Through 33 games, the defenseman is leading the Phantoms with 23 points and is second on the club with a plus-three rating and three power play goals. He likely remains first on the current depth chart in terms of being recalled to Philadelphia in the event they need a defenseman, especially with Shayne Gostisbehere injured and Robert Hagg powering through his first full professional season on this side of the pond. Zach Hopkins

Dec 2014- Through 20 games played, the defenseman leads all Phantoms skaters with 69 shots on goal (almost 3.5 per game) and 17 points coming from six goals and 11 assists. This is in addition to a two-game stint with the Flyers where he collected one assist. Manning's current career high for points in a season is 31, which he reached in 73 games last year. Manning is on pace to double that figure this year with Lehigh Valley Zach Hopkins

Oct 2014- The Flyers announced that they have recalled defenseman Brandon Manning from Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League. In six games with the Phantoms this season, Manning has scored one goal to go with four assists and is a plus-2 with 15 penalty minutes. This will be the blueliner's third stint with the Flyers where he has two assists in 10 games played. Zach Hopkins

April 2013: Earlier in the month Brandon Manning was recalled by the Philadelphia Flyers. Although not an offensive-defensemen, Manning registered his first NHL point in his first game, an assist in a 4-2 victory over the New York Rangers. He’s looked pretty comfortable so far, maintaining a plus-3 over four games. Considering Manning was essentially thrown to the wolves (playing on a blueline that is a combined minus-34 without him), he’s definitely held his own.  If Manning can continue to eat up minutes (he’s averaging just over 14 minutes a night now) in all situations, he’ll find himself in the City of Brotherly Love permanently next season. Nathan Martin

March 2013:  Brandon Manning played his first full season in the WHL in 2008 with the Chilliwack Bruins. Although not an ideal situation for a young defensemen (Chilliwack posted a minus-133 on the season), Manning showed lots of potential as a two-way defensemen tallying 29 points in 72 games (11 goals and 18 assists) and posting 140 PIMs.  After a failed tryout with the Maple Leafs, Manning returned to Chilliwack in 2009 as captain.  On a much-improved squad, Manning exploded for 54 points in 69 games on the Chilliwack blue line (13 goals and 41 assists), and (for interested fantasy owners) still sat for 138 penalty minutes.  In his final season with the Bruins, Manning duplicated his success from the previous year, posting 53 points in just 53 games, also hitting the 20-goal plateau for the first time in his WHL career.  Since being signed by Philadelphia in 2010, Manning has gone pointless in just four games with the Flyers, but is now in his second season with their AHL-affiliated Adirondack Phantoms. So far in 2013 he has played good minutes for the Phantoms and has 19 points in 59 games, again sitting in the box for 188 minutes. With the Flyers’ having major defensive issues so far in 2013, being a young defensemen in their system is a great spot to be. The bottom line is this kid is going to get to play somewhere; he chips in offensively and he’s bringing a serious physical game. Although not jaw-dropping, his offensive numbers are present at every level he plays, and let’s not forget he was named captain of his WHL squad as a teenager. The knock on Manning used to be his size (listed as just 175 pounds with Chilliwack), but he has since bulked up and filled out his 6-1 frame.  A red flag for some coaches would be that Manning has a tendency to get a little rowdy, especially in high-emotion games. A coach’s ability to harness that ‘talent’ would be of great value to his team. I hear they like that stuff in Philadelphia.

Fantasy Outlook: B-

Has the potential to be a hard-nosed 3-4 defensemen in the NHL. 

Footage:

Manning, Big Hit and Fight

{youtube}O4xGO56Pp5M{/youtube}

{source}
<iframe src="http://www.eliteprospects.com/iframe_player_stats_small.php?player=23346" width="100%" height="450" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" ></iframe>
{/source}