A pair of five-year Western Hockey Leaguers from Vancouver Island are making an early impact with the UBC Thunderbirds' program.
The two WHL grads - Brad Hoban of Langford and Nanaimo's Neil Manning - committed to head coach Milan Dragicevic's program after a handful of seasons with the Swift Current Broncos and Vancouver Giants, respectively.
Manning left the Giants as the first player to complete a full five-year stint with the team, having joined them during Vancouver's Memorial Cup Championship season of 2006-07. The 20-year-old holds the Giants' record for career games played at 310.
Hoban, meanwhile, played 325 games for the Broncos, second overall on the teams' games played list.
"They're doing great," Dragicevic said of the pair. "They are obviously two different players.
"Manning is a defenceman, a puck-moving guy who loves to jump up into the rush. He's really the quarterback on the power play and that was something we were looking for."
Hoban also adds offensive prowess.
"He is a really skilled, offensive player who can get to the open spots and slows down the play. He's terrific on the half-wall on the power play and has a good shot," said Dragicevic.
"Those two guys were very good players on their junior teams the last few years and they bring that offensive side to our hockey team. We were very happy to get them because they fill a need, come with tremendous experience and they both want to be here."
Manning wasted little time committing, accepted into the prestigious Sauder School of Business at UBC.
"I am so excited to start a new chapter in life, both on and off the ice," he said of remaining in the Vancouver area. "UBC has a worldclass business program, brand new facilities from the 2010 Olympics, and is building a hockey team that can compete with the top schools in sa国际传媒. I'm thrilled to be staying here in Vancouver, a city I have really grown to love."
The two were instrumental in the T-Birds' opening weekend in which they took three of four possible points from the University of Regina Cougars.
Hoban had a pair of goals and a helper and Manning had three assists. The team is off this week from sa国际传媒 West play, but heads to Colorado to face the University of Denver, Colorado College and Air Force Academy in three exhibition games.
"They add a nice element to our power play which keeps other teams on their toes," Dragicevic said. "We're very pleased with what we've seen from both of them."
Hoban upgraded his marks to meet the entrance qualifications, which also pleased his new head coach.
"It was a pretty easy decision for myself," said Hoban, who is enrolled in the Arts program. "I spent five years of junior far from home. I wanted to come back closer to home and UBC is such a great school academically and has a good hockey program in place.
"I expect us to make the playoffs and try and make a push to win the University Cup," added Hoban, who expects himself to be a point-a-game player, playing right wing with Justin McCrae and Max Grassi.
The T-Birds also feature Jason Yee of Victoria and Matt Wray of Qualicum Beach, both in their second years, and fellow freshman Kevin Smith who finished last season with the Victoria Grizzlies after four years with the Kelowna Rockets.
