Manns Ready For The Spotlight
Oct 19, 2023After a big summer in B.C., Zach Manns is ready for his next chapter.
This summer, Saskatchewan GM Derek Keenan moved on from one star lefty in hopes of finding their next. The deal that left some up in arms has turned over a new leaf, one with hope and optimism.
For Victoria product Manns, the opportunity to prove he’s a top forward in the National Lacrosse League is any player’s dream.
“I'd like to think I'm pretty fast, athletic and can get to the net using my legs, but I also like to shoot. More opportunity the better, so you could say I'm a shooter, but can get to the net and pass as well,” – said Manns
The transition hasn’t always been easy. After two years at Drexel, the young dual sport athlete gave the NCAA the cold shoulder and jumped into the pro lacrosse ranks.
“It’s wild, but I even considered playing basketball again, but after the 2019 Minto there was a coach I know who came up to me and said I was garnering NLL interest which was wild to think about. I had never been to an NLL game before I played in one.”
After being selected in the second round and a few seasons playing a depth forward role in Toronto, despite his playoff domination, a change was bound to happen.
“It was definitely a bit of a surprise to get the call from Jamie (Dawick). Although he let me know I was going with Adam Jay who is a close friend of mine which I was happy about. I know I'm pretty lucky going from Toronto to Saskatchewan, like two of the most premier franchises in the league.”
Rising to the occasion has always been Manns game. Over the past two seasons, Manns had 21 points in six playoff games, all of which were against either Buffalo or Halifax.
“I mean, those are just the games that you live for as an athlete, right? Like, playing regular season is a ton of fun, but it’s not playoffs you know. You got to put 100 percent effort into it because in those games nothing is guaranteed, and you got to go out there and win one game to keep playing. I feel like that's when I'm at my best when the pressure's on. And I feel like I've always been that way in every sport I've played,”
After a second straight playoff exit at the hands of the Buffalo Bandits, Manns returned out west to play for the Nanaimo Timbermen in the WLA. After an electric summer-ball campaign. Manns was voted as the league’s Most Valuable Player, scoring 44 goals, and adding 45 assists in the regular season. Despite Robert Church’s Langley Thunder ending the Tmen’s postseason in four games, Manns added 10 more points in the playoffs.
“I've been trying to work on just having an all-around game as of the last few years. Growing up I always had the ball in my stick, but I feel like the last few seasons I've also been working a lot on my off-ball game and being able to get open without the ball. But yeah, I still really like to shoot the ball from the outside the most.”
With change in full force, moving to Saskatchewan for a fresh start couldn’t come at a better time.
The former Victoria Junior A star gets to play for a legendary Shamrock in Bruce Alexander who is now the Rush’s offensive coordinator, and alongside his former teammate Patrick Dodds, in which the two of them led their club to a minto in 2019.
“I've known Patrick for pretty much my whole life. His mom and my mom are really close and they've been close for a long time. Actually, funny story, I lived at Patrick's house when I was in eighth grade for maybe a month, when we were in between moving and our house wasn't ready yet. So we stayed at a hotel for a couple weeks and then we stayed at Patrick's house actually for like a month. So I've known Pat for a really long time and playing with him in junior was special so I’m super excited to get out there again with him.”
And now, the countdown to the regular season starts. The dream of going from Shamrock to Rush green becomes a reality in December, when the new era starts in Saskatchewan, led by Zach Manns.
“I’m just ready to get started.”