David Michael Manson (born January 27, 1967) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with several teams. He is currently the head coach of the American Hockey League’s San Diego Gulls.

Playing career

Manson played junior hockey with his hometown Prince Albert Raiders in the Western Hockey League. He was drafted 11th overall by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 1985 NHL entry draft, and joined the team a year later. In the season, he recorded 352 penalty minutes for the Blackhawks, recording a penalty minute in 60 of his 79 games played that year. His sixty games with at least one penalty minute is the most in a season in NHL history.

He also played for the Edmonton Oilers, Winnipeg Jets/Phoenix Coyotes, Montreal Canadiens, Dallas Stars and Toronto Maple Leafs.

He retired in 2002 with 390 points and 2,792 penalty minutes in 1,103 career NHL games.

Coaching career Manson worked as an assistant coach with the Prince Albert Raiders from 2002 to 2009, leaving briefly to take a coaching job with the Prince Albert Mintos. He returned to his post prior to the start of the 2011-12 WHL season, remaining there until 2018.

Manson was hired by the Edmonton Oilers as an assistant coach for their top affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors of the American Hockey League, on June 4, 2018. He was promoted to assistant coach of the Oilers on February 10, 2022., and was relieved of his duties on November 12, 2023.

He was hired by the Anaheim Ducks to serve as an assistant with the San Diego Gulls prior to the 2025-26 AHL season, and was promoted to head coach on July 20, 2026. It is Manson’s first head-coaching position after 24 seasons as an assistant or associate coach.

Transactions October 2, 1991 – Traded from Chicago Blackhawks with future considerations to Edmonton Oilers for Steve Smith. March 15, 1994 – Traded from Edmonton Oilers with 6th round pick (Chris Kibermanis) to Winnipeg Jets for Mats Lindgren, Boris Mironov, 1st round pick (Jason Bonsignore), and 4th round pick (Adam Copeland). March 18, 1997 – Traded from Phoenix Coyotes to Montreal Canadiens for Murray Baron and Chris Murray. November 16, 1998 – Traded from Montreal Canadiens with Jocelyn Thibault and Brad Brown to Chicago Blackhawks for Jeff Hackett, Eric Weinrich, Alain Nasreddine, and a conditional draft pick. February 8, 2000 – Traded from Chicago Blackhawks with Sylvain Côté to Dallas Stars for Kevin Dean, Derek Plante, and 2nd round pick in the 2001 draft (Matt Keith). November 21, 2001 – Traded from Toronto Maple Leafs to Dallas Stars for Jyrki Lumme.

Personal life Manson and his late wife, Lana have four children. He currently resides in Christopher Lake, Saskatchewan.

His son, Josh, is a defenceman for the Colorado Avalanche, and his daughter, Meagan played for the women's soccer team at the University of Saskatchewan. He also has twins; a son, Ben, who previously played for the La Ronge Ice Wolves of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League from 2017 to 2020, and a daughter, Emma.

Manson is remembered for his low raspy voice, which occurred after taking a hard punch to the throat from Sergio Momesso during a 1991 game. The force of Momesso's punch caused permanent damage to Manson's larynx.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs     Regular season   Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1982–83 Prince Albert Mintos SMHL 28 11 11 22 170 — — — — — 1982–83 Prince Albert Raiders WHL 6 0 1 1 9 — — — — — 1983–84 Prince Albert Raiders WHL 70 2 7 9 233 5 0 0 0 4 1984–85 Prince Albert Raiders WHL 72 8 30 38 247 13 1 0 1 34 1984–85 Prince Albert Raiders MC — — — — — 5 0 1 1 10 1985–86 Prince Albert Raiders WHL 70 14 34 48 177 20 1 8 9 63 1986–87 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 63 1 8 9 146 3 0 0 0 10 1987–88 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 54 1 6 7 185 5 0 0 0 27 1987–88 Saginaw Hawks IHL 6 0 3 3 37 — — — — — 1988–89 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 79 18 36 54 352 16 0 8 8 84 1989–90 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 59 5 23 28 301 20 2 4 6 46 1990–91 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 75 14 15 29 191 6 0 1 1 36 1991–92 Edmonton Oilers NHL 79 15 32 47 220 16 3 9 12 44 1992–93 Edmonton Oilers NHL 83 15 30 45 210 — — — — — 1993–94 Edmonton Oilers NHL 57 3 13 16 140 — — — — — 1993–94 Winnipeg Jets NHL 13 1 4 5 51 — — — — — 1994–95 Winnipeg Jets NHL 44 3 15 18 139 — — — — — 1995–96 Winnipeg Jets NHL 82 7 23 30 205 6 2 1 3 30 1996–97 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 66 3 17 20 164 — — — — — 1996–97 Montreal Canadiens NHL 9 1 1 2 23 5 0 0 0 17 1997–98 Montreal Canadiens NHL 81 4 30 34 122 10 0 1 1 14 1998–99 Montreal Canadiens NHL 11 0 2 2 48 — — — — — 1998–99 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 64 6 15 21 107 — — — — — 1999–2000 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 37 0 7 7 40 — — — — — 1999–2000 Dallas Stars NHL 26 1 2 3 22 23 0 0 0 33 2000–01 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 74 4 7 11 93 2 0 0 0 2 2001–02 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 13 0 1 1 10 — — — — — 2001–02 Dallas Stars NHL 34 0 1 1 23 — — — — — 2001–02 Utah Grizzlies AHL 2 0 0 0 2 — — — — — NHL totals 1,103 102 288 390 2,792 112 7 24 31 343

International Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM 1993 Canada WC 8 3 7 10 22

Coaching history +SeasonTeamLgeRole2002–09Prince Albert RaidersWHLAssistant coach2009–12Prince Albert MintosSMAAAHLAssistant coach2012–18Prince Albert RaidersWHLAssociate coach2018–22Bakersfield CondorsAHLAssistant coach2022–23Edmonton OilersNHLAssistant coach2004–25Lethbridge HurricanesWHLAssistant coach2025–26San Diego GullsAHLAssistant coach2026–San Diego GullsAHLHead coach

Awards WHL East Second All-Star Team – 1986

See also List of NHL players with 1,000 games played List of NHL players with 2,000 career penalty minutes

References

External links