Season In Review: Josh Manson
By: Matthew Garcia
In his third NHL season with the Anaheim Ducks, Josh Manson appeared in all 82 regular season games for the first time in his career and has solidified himself as a top defenseman for the Ducks. In his 82 games, Manson posted five goals and 12 assists for a total of 17 points. However, goal scoring is not what the 6’3 215lb defenseman is known for. He is best known for his physicality, and Manson did not disappoint this season as he made his presence known on the ice logging a career high 227 hits, which was 69 more than he posted in the 2015-2016 season.
Manson doesn’t just stop at hitting, he also can throw some haymakers and fans absolutely love it! Just like his father Dave Manson, Josh doesn’t back down from a fight, and his most memorable of six fights of the 2016-2017 campaign came near the end of the regular season on April 4th, against Calgary Flames defenseman Mark Giordano. Manson had challenged Giordano after he delivered a knee on knee blow to Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler, the fight ended after Manson connected with an uppercut that put Giordano down. See the fight below, courtesy of hockeyfights.com
2016/2017 Playoffs:
Manson appeared in all 17 games of the post-season and would carry his physical play from the regular season into the playoffs as he would rack up a grand total of 54 hits through the three rounds of play. During the Ducks playoff run, he would average more than 20 minutes of play, the reasoning behind the increase in minutes were due to the absence of Fowler through the entire first round of play against the Flames. In the three rounds, Manson logged three assists.
With the post-season wrapping up after a difficult game six loss in round three to the Nashville Predators the Ducks were faced with a very tough decision as the expansion draft was looming and were fearing that they may lose the gritty, hard-working defenseman to the Vegas Golden Knights. But, as expansion draft day arrived the Ducks managed to work out a deal with the Golden Knights to protect Manson. In order to keep Manson, the Ducks traded 21-year old defenseman Shea Theodore to Vegas and in turn, the Golden Knights selected Clayton Stoner.
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Pick up a Josh Manson shirt by clicking below! All proceeds go to the Save Your Skin Foundation, which helps fight skin cancer. Only a few left!
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July 17th, 2017
Filed under: Ducks News Tagged: Anaheim Ducks, ducksnpucks, Josh Manson