Written by Brian van Vliet - December 15, 2008 (As Seen In Hockey Now)
“Caring, honest, up front, hard working, generous and accountable”. Those are just a few of the words long time goalie coach and friend Tyler Love used to describe Michael Maniago. In the early hours of November 29, 2008 a tragic motor vehicle accident took our friend Michael from us at the tender age of 20.
“He was so much more than just a goalie”, Love explained, “He was a great young man who was just beginning his life as an adult.” After a successful four year tenure in the Western Hockey League with the Kamloops Blazers and the Lethbridge Hurricanes, Maniago decided to come back home to Calgary to be close to family and friends.
Love originally started working with Mike when he was 15 years old while playing Midget AAA hockey in Calgary. He described how even as a youngster Mike was such an enjoyable person to be around; he was always smiling and never took things too seriously. Love explained “Mike never let the highs get too high or the lows get too low. That’s very important as a goalie. He just loved hockey and I knew he would always be around the game.” Mike also loved his days away from the rink making sure to spend ample time with his parents, brother and friends. Tyler Love grinned when he told me how Mike didn’t always like to train a whole lot in the summer and when it came time to get in shape for the upcoming season it would take a few sessions for him to find his game. “He would come on the ice, do a couple of pushes and then fall into his goalpost. We would both laugh and within a few sessions he would be back to his normal competitive self. This went on every year I worked with him.”
Due to a series of circumstances Maniago’s career in the WHL came to an end and Mike came home to Calgary and started working at World Pro Goaltending as a goalie coach with his friend and mentor Tyler Love. Tyler spoke of how much Mike loved working with the young goalies. “Where most guys would be sad that their hockey career had just ended, Mike was excited. He was home with his family and friends and could apply all his experiences into training kids. He was such a natural, he instinctively knew when to correct and when not to. He brought a youthful enthusiasm to the ice every day. Where most goalie coaches complain of aches and pains after firing pucks for two or three hours, Mike never did. He would just keep going for hours and hours. His focus was to make sure each student got the most out of their session with him.”
The hundreds of people that packed St. Albert the Great Parrish in Southeast Calgary for the church ceremony was a testament to how loved Michael was. As I stood there, I needed to look no further than on either side of me to see the effect Mike had on people. My oldest daughter Monet who was fortunate enough to have worked alongside Michael at World Pro and my twelve year old son Tyler (a goalie himself) were losing the battle to maintain their composure throughout the ceremony.
- Brian van Vliet
