Claimed:The Chronicles of Chet Manley (Bio)

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The Chronicles of Chet Manley

A Man's Story

 

 

The Early Days

While it's jokingly rumoured that Chet Manley was born a man, not a baby, that's of course not true. Manley was however born both early (almost a month ahead of time) and oversized (just over 10 pounds) at Bismarck General Hospital; a rare combination. His childhood is far from positive and it helped him grow into the manly man he has become today. His parents very young of age had him unexpectedly and his abusive father, Dick - yes his name was actually Dick, would leave them shortly after he turned five and started school. His father, now in jail, was a raging alcoholic that often took his rage out on both his mother and young Chet. Chet always tried to fight back but was helpless, his father always telling him he would be thankful for this one day and it would make him a stronger man. While Chet became a very strong young man and has a terrific future ahead of him in the VHL; he says this has nothing to do with it and hates his father with a passion. His mother Pamela didn't have it easy raising Chet, he was constantly in trouble at school and she was constantly struggling to find work and someone to babysit him. Nobody wanted to babysit Chet and called him evil and a nightmare to watch. Eventually she would succumb to letting Chet look after himself after and before school at a young age of 9 since nobody would watch him. 

 

One thing Chet always enjoyed was hockey; originally for the violence in it but he then realized he had a talent for it and it became more than an outlet for his pent up anger. At 10 years old he joined minor hockey, much later than most. His mother barely able to afford it, Chet played defense his first season and immediately became the star of the team. Unfortunately, Pamela didn't have the funds to continue to support Chet's passion and this didn't bode well with the coach who had taken a liking to the boy. He offered to pay for his season fee himself not wanting to see Chet resort back to trouble-making as he saw extreme potential in him. First game of the season the team found themselves without a goalie as he came down with an extreme illness. Nobody spoke up in the dressing room offering up their services so Chet said why the hell not? Coach didn't like it but he had no choice. Chet would go on to post a shutout and lead his team to a Championship winning an MVP award. He's never looked back since and has been a netminder ever since.

 

Chet makes a big save during a minor league hockey game

 

High School

Finally Chet hit high school in the town of Bismarck, North Dakota and made the school team as a freshman. High School itself was very tough for Chet, he wasn't booksmart and outside of P.E. class struggled to get by. He did however quickly take over the starting role halfway through his freshman season and take a struggling team almost to a State Championship. 

 

Chet would run into trouble with school some more up until his Senior Year but hockey was easy as he had lead his team to two championships already and was looking for a third. He had already failed a class prior to this and as a result had an extra workload to take on this year for school. On top of that he had to work a part-time job at a restaurant to help his mother with the bills which meant late nights. It was becoming too much for Chet and it got even worse one night when he came home from a night out with a few teammates, a couple beers in. His deadbeat abusive father was sitting at their kitchen table with his mother there too. He was immediately enraged. How in the world is this happening right now, he thought. His father wanted back in their lives after everything he did, and didn't do having not given an ounce of support to them since leaving. He didn't care what more he had to say, he was slightly intoxicated and that was all it took. He lunged at his father immediately throwing a right hook and catching him off guard. His father rather than say anything turned to violence as well, overtaking Chet and beating him silly while his mother sobbed and tried to break things up rather unsuccessfully. The cops would arrive and his father would end up in jail, apparently he was already wanted for more serious events.

 

This lead to Chet reverting back to his old self, he would drink a lot and get in fights and stopped going to practice and games. His team would drop quite a few games without his positive spirit in the dressing room and his chance at a scholarship was immediately erased from being a possibility. He would flunk school that year and turn into a mess.

 

Manley seen partying with a few friends

 

That summer he ran into his past minor league coach at a bar that he got into with a fake ID. His coach was shocked at what transpired and was able to convince Chet to return to school and finish his diploma. The only person that could get through to Chet after jumpstarting his career did so and now he was restarting it again. Chet would pass his classes with lots of help from teammates and lead his team again to a Championship. He got a scholarship offer but turned it down, he knew he couldn't do school anymore and elected to play hockey in Canada in the development leagues.

 

Chet Manley didn't need College, he was going pro!

 

Preparing for the VHLM

 

Chet had a bit of time to prepare for the upcoming VHLM season after making his decision and was passed over in the draft as teams were uncertain of his intentions. Former University of North Dakota Alumni; Ed Belfour took an interest in Chet's situation and worked with him in the offseason. Chet was also scouted and invited to the US Under-20 Development Team as a potential International Player. Chet's game improved dramatically that summer and he was now ready to leave home. It wouldn't be easy, especially for his caring mother. He felt that she needed him for moral and financial support but vowed that he would go professional and help her out. Goodbye was tough but finding a team wanting his service was tougher.

 

Chet during a practice drill at the US Development Camp

 

Despite Chet's status as a promising prospect there wasn't a lot of need for goaltenders and it wasn't until a few weeks into the season that Chet would hear from VHLM teams. What made it more difficult is that Chet had no desire to move overseason which limited his options as he turned down deals from Bern and Bratislava. Saskatoon eventually came knocking with a chance to start and Chet jumped on ship right away. Saskatoon is close to home and the perfect fit.

 

[1,204 Words]

 

 

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