I'm the last person to give NHL coaches too much credit, but I will say that it might be deserved here with regard to Manning. For fans, it can be easy to see an undrafted, unheralded young player suck and then assume he has no room for growth-- that he'll always be a worthless plug. But a coach has a responsibility to see potential that fans might not. For Manning, he's had offensive ability that he's shown in the WHL and AHL, and I respect Hakstol for giving Manning the opportunity to see if it could translate. For example, Erik Gustafsson never had that opportunity.
Sort of reminds me a bit of Jake Muzzin here. Not that I think Manning will be the next Muzzin, but it's good to see a no-name player get an opportunity and do something with it when fans wouldn't have had the patience to see that through. LA fans definitely didn't expect Muzzin to be a piece of their D back in 2012.
Manning is hardly a .7 PPG player, but he's a lot more comfortable in the NHL now, and it's good to see him grow.