Maven's Memories: Remembering a Week with Isles Goalie George Maneluk

Does anyone -- and I do mean anyone -- in Islanders Country remember George Maneluk?

Let's face it, as goaltenders of our favorite team are concerned, George Maneluk does not immediately come to mind.  Well, maybe not to your mind. But as for my cranium, the answer is simply how can I forget Gorgeous George?

I remember Maneluk well because -- at least for one week -- he was "part" of the Fischler Family. And I kid you not.

This was after the 1990-91 season; not exactly one that lives in Islanders fame. The club finished last in the Patrick Division, a seeming continent out of a playoff berth. 

During that 80-game season, the 76th overall pick in the 1987 Entry Draft made his National Hockey League debut -- in Orange and Blue, no less.

Goalie George Maneluk certainly had paid his dues. After netminding for the University of Manitoba, the Winnipeg native played Junior hockey for the Brandon Wheat Kings and then turned pro, earning a buck or three in AHL Springfield, among other stops along the way.

"His minor league career took him to nearly every league on the continent," noted historian-author Andrew Podnieks in his book Players -- The Ultimate A-Z Guide. 

While playing in Troy, New York for Bill Torrey's Capital District Islanders during the 1990-91 campaign, George finally got the fateful call from The Boss, "C'mon down!"  

So, down the New York State Thruway he drove and then on to the LIE and eventually the Nassau Veterans' Memorial Coliseum parking lot.

At the time Glenn Healy was top banana between the Isles pipes, backed by Jeff Hackett. Mark Fitzpatrick and Maneluk were the "Cup of Coffee" goalies.

George fulfilled his NHL dream by playing in two Isles games games (1-1) and filled in on two other occasions. "He was never destined to stardom," was Podniek's scouting report and Andrew was right. Maneluk never played in another NHL game. Yet, his Islanders employment was not over. Not by a long or slapshot.

During the summer of 1990-91, the Nassaumen sponsored a hockey school and one branch of it included a goalkeeper's camp. And by this time you must have guessed who happened to be the puck--stopping professor. 

Correct: The one and only George Maneluk.

At the time, our 13-year-old son, Simon, had become fascinated with the idea of having

a hunk of six-ounce vulcanized rubber energetically hurled at him. My wife, Shirley, and I thought that Simon just might benefit from rigorous workouts although I never was sure why.

So, for a week and a half we schlepped Simon from our Manhattan apartment to the Isles' practice rink. Now 45  years old and the father of three hockey players -- Odel, 19, Ariel, 18 and Avigail, 14 -- my son looks back to the Maneluk Goalie School with a blend of nostalgia and reverence.

"I was wearing a set of Aeroflex goalie pads which you don't see anymore," Simon recalled. "My favorite Islander goalie at the time was Glenn Healy"

George was teaching a combination of stand-up goaltending and what would become known nowadays as "The Butterfly."

As the lad's parents, neither Shirley nor I knew what to expect as we sat with our legs covered in blankets in the frigid rink along with a few other parents. All we could tell was that the kid seemed to be enjoying himself, learning from a professional goaltender.

(A year earlier Maneluk had backstopped AHL Springfield to the Calder Cup, the league's championship trophy.)

"While George never had the NHL career that I thought he might have had, looking backward, I'd say that he was a fantastic coach," Simon recalled.

"My guess is that his years spent in the minors -- and even making it to the NHL for a brief stint -- taught him about perseverance and an outlook on goaltending that truly helped me. My week-and-a-half at the camp was possibly the most productive time I ever spent on the ice."

Simon's goaltending career included a winter playing goal at the Murray Rink in Yonkers, New York. For high school, he chose Northwood Academy in Lake Placid where he was one of six goaltenders during the 1992-93 season. His long-range goal was to play college hockey.

However, a near-fatal attack of cardiomyapathy ended his goaltending career that summer. His life was saved thanks to a heart transplant early in August 1993.

But Simon never lost his love for hockey nor did he ever delete his unforgettable stint at George Maneluk's goalie camp from his mind.

"I remember George saying, 'There are always four or five players on the ice, but only one goalie. When the time comes for you to make the big save, that's when you can bail out our team. You, as the goalkeeper, become the most important player on the ice.'"

Then, a pause: "Watching -- and admiring -- Ilya Sorokin these days, I've come to realize that George's words to me 32 years ago still hold true in today's NHL game!"

In our family, at least, George Maneluk is unforgettable.