Erik Chisling is the name that can be read on the office door outside of the New England Wolfpack General Managers office. He has a long tenure of management experience, collecting a career record of 337-256-57 as a General Manager at the Simulation Hockey League level. This does not include his success in an Assistant General Manager role. Although a Challenge Cup Championship title has eluded him so far, his greatest prowess has been to dismantle a failing, aging core and to reinvent it into a strong, contending franchise.

A young Erik Chisling from his Danish Juniors days before the NWJHL.

Erik Chisling is a Dane who hails from Copenhagen, Denmark. He grew up watching the premier teams of Europe on the ice in international play, and dreamed of once pulling a Red and White Team Denmark sweater over his head at the IIHF level of play. Unfortunately, that dream was never fulfilled as Denmark has yet to develop enough competitive players to be recognized by the IIHF as a competitive hockey nation. As he grew up, NWJHL and SHL scouts alike were drawn to his smooth skating and explosive first step from the blue line. He was able to break out of a hard forecheck and had an affinity towards finding the open man for a quick counter attack.

At the time of Erik Chisling’s draft year into the NWJHL (North West Junior Hockey League), which is now called the SMJHL, the role of defender’s meta revolved around being a large, bruising physical presence who cleared the front of the crease and chipped the puck up the boards to get it out, hoping their forwards can win the battle and puck possession. The hulking blueliners skill set revolved around strength, shot velocity, checking and blocking shots. This wasn’t Erik’s game. He’d rather out maneuver his opponent rather than sit him on his rear end. He’d want to be where the puck was going, rather than where the puck was. This is what separated him from his competition.

An anonymous scout from that era of the SHL had the following to say. “Erik Chisling was one of those European players that some general managers shied away from. There was fear that he would be physically overmatched and not be able to contribute at the SHL level. The GMs that passed on him clearly missed on that pick, and that’s part of being a scout. You can’t hit on all of the picks.”

The management of the Kelowna Knights saw something different. The Knights drafted the Dane defender in the first round, fifth overall in the S4 NWJHL Entry Draft. The Dane went from the cold winters and temperate summers of Copenhagen, Denmark to a Canadian vacationer’s delight, tucked between the Okanagan Mountains in British Columbia. Erik Chisling proceeded to excel in his rookie season in the SMJHL, was named the Captain of the club and captured a Four Star Cup in his very first season in North America.

“I really loved my time in Kelowna. Management was really involved, intelligent and wanted to do whatever it took to win, but also wanted to invest their time and effort into assisting us in becoming top tier SHL prospects and to help us build a skilled foundation to develop and prosper into elite SHL players. We had a great group of guys and girls and we performed when it mattered most. Winning that Four Star Cup is one of my fondest playing memories.”

Coming off of the high of the Four Star Cup, the SHL was quickly looking to expand its imprint on North America. The league announced expansion, bringing two new franchises to the big league. The Los Angeles Panthers and the Minnesota Chiefs were unveiled, bringing the league to 10 franchises. When the time for the SHL Entry Draft arrived, Chisling saw his draft stock fall below some of the other bigger names, namely forwards and goaltenders. The first round came and went, and the second round began. Anxiety began to eat away at Chisling – what had he done to lower his draft stock? He was a top 5 pick in the NWJHL, and only crushed expectations out of the park. He was a captain; he won a Four Star Cup.

“With the 13th overall selection, the Los Angeles Panthers select… from the Kelowna Knights of the NWJHL, Danish defenseman Erik Chisling.”

This was a whirlwind. Chisling was whisked down to the draft stage, pulled the black and red sweater over his shoulders, and dreamed of what would come in the following years of his life in the land of glitz and glamor. Los Angeles! A chance to really make his mark on an infantile team and to become a face of the franchise for years to come.

The SHL at this time was a different place than it is today. What is now commonplace of 3-4 seasons of playing down at the SMJHL level was almost unheard of at that time. Sure, there were plenty of players drafted by a SHL team whose development all but halted and never made the big club, but if there was clear, significant and consistent improvement it was common for a rookie to come up and play with the big club in the immediate season after being drafted. It didn’t look like it would be the case for Chisling, with the Los Angeles management electing to send him back down to Kelowna to at least start the S5 season. This wouldn’t last long, however.

The Panthers management had a plan in place to not be a stereotypical expansion franchise. They weren’t going to wallow on the basement, sitting on their hands until their draft selections matured into elite caliber players. LA targeted already developed players in the expansion draft, and players that had high trade values to secure assets that could help them win now rather than their future. Some may say this strategy could mortgage their future, but that seemed to be of no concern to the Panthers. Chisling was called up early on in S5 and it seemed as if all the critics of his style of play were immediately validated. In his forty-four games played, Erik Chisling failed to eclipse 10 points, collecting a measly six points and an abysmal -34 plus minus. This seemed to be of concern to the win-now Panthers, and they pulled some strings and made a few phone calls.

Chisling in his rookie season with the LA Panthers.

“We had just had a last hurrah with the boys as the season ended. We all went out that night before. I needed to nurse off a bad headache and a world spinning around me. Little did I know when I listened to the voicemail that my world wouldn’t just be spinning, but it would be flipped upside down. I got a call from the Panthers GM Deener that I was traded and I needed to pack my bags. I was headed to Manhattan.
West Coast to East Coast. It was like the old rap beef of the 90s, Biggy vs Tupac Shakur. I found myself wearing the other colors suddenly. I was incredibly welcomed by the Rage front office and personnel, and I think that that trade reinvigorated me and motivated me to work even harder to make my style of game work in the SHL.”

Sep 27,2011
Manhattan Rage acquire Erik Chisling, Frank Grimes, S5 4th round pick and a S6 3rd round pick from the Los Angeles Panthers in exchange for Jas Brar, Jerrod Carter and Pavol Skvoznak.

This trade seemed to work well for the Panthers, as they went on to win the S6 Challenge Cup without the discarded Danish defender. Chisling, however, saw a personal renaissance in his career in the S6 season. His maligned 6 point campaign in S5 exploded into a 13 goal, 38 assist campaign for a total of 51 points in 60 games played. Chisling, in his sophomore season, had a point per game season within reach. With these individual accolades collected, it was however disappointing for Erik to have the Manhattan Rage finish outside of the playoff picture. The Rage were firmly in a rebuild, and Chisling was the feather in the Rage’s metaphorical cap. The SHL Awards committee saw Chisling’s explosive offensive season and recognized it, awarding him the S6 Scott Stevens Trophy as the league’s top defender.

“Chisling really seemed to change the way that the position of defense was played at that time. He was putting up statistics that were comparable to the highest end playmakers in the league at that time. He was lethal on the powerplay. The way he carried the puck down the wall and found someone with their stick cocked and ready for the one timer. His no look passes had everyone on their heels. Just a fantastic, fantastic player.”

Chisling receiving the S6 Stevens Trophy wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows, however. There was a blowback from the traditionalists of the league banging their drums that the “soft Euro” didn’t play defense the right way, he didn’t have enough hits or shots blocked. The vocal minority declared the requirements for two Defenseman awards right away, with fear that the Stevens Trophy would devolve into simply a point race when so much more goes into being an effective defender at the SHL level.

S7 arrived, and there was excitement and expectations associated with both the Manhattan Rage and the play of the young defenseman. The team’s performance improved marginally all around, but Chisling’s play took a slight step back as he took on a larger role and responsibility on the team. He was now being asked to not just contribute offense at the level he was historically, but also to shut down the top players on the opposing teams. His production regressed to only 5 goals and 31 assists, for a total of 36 points. This was a 15 point drop, but his goal suppression drastically improved with his plus minus rising to +17 from +3 in S6. Perhaps the defensive traditionalists’ cases aided Chisling, as he captured the S7 Scott Stevens Trophy as well. The Rage, however, were unable to hoist the Challenge Cup yet again.

The clock was ticking on Chisling’s patience and injuries were starting to take a toll on the young defender. He went through a few offseason surgeries on his knees and hips, a result of the fast paced style of play and punishing hits he endured as a top target for the physical players of the early SHL era. S8 was Chisling’s final season in a Rage uniform, and he had a good year, but yet another year of slight regression. He had a 9 goal, 27 assist campaign for yet another 36 points, but his plus minus slipped down to -7. He seemed to have a bit of a boon in awards voting due to his reputation now, as he was named a Scott Stevens finalist but was not awarded the trophy in S8.

Chisling’s time in Manhattan was when his career really shined, but it was also a time of frustration and disappointment as it seemed their window of contention opened quickly and closed just as fast.

“After S8, it was clear that I wasn’t going to be a player that played 15-20 seasons in the league. I was getting tired. I wanted to see the finish line. The finish line, obviously, was a Challenge Cup. The Rage front office hit the reset button after S8. They had a tremendous amount of respect for me, and it was reciprocated. They allowed my agent to find a trade that worked for both parties and allowed me to chase my career goal, a Challenge Cup. I remember talking to xDPark, then the GM of the Calgary Dragons, and we really seemed to hit it off. The Dragons had just won the Challenge Cup, and what seemed like the entirety of their roster was young and ready to do it all again. We found something that was agreeable for both franchises, I think it was multiple first round selections if I remember correctly. I was shipped out to the Dragons.”

Chisling contributed exactly as advertised in his debut season with the Dragons in S9, tallying a 31 point campaign and a whopping +35 for his plus minus. The Dragons went on to win the whole thing, a back to back championship for the Dragons and the ultimate prize for the Danish defender. He received no individual accolades that season, but after the tumultuous times in both Los Angeles and Manhattan, hoisting that 34 point silvered chalice was the just what the doctor ordered. Chisling returned with the Dragons the following season as they chased the threepeat, but it wasn’t in the cards. S10 saw a production increase in his offense, bringing a 37 point campaign to the table, but the Dragons fell short of the ultimate goal and the threepeat in the postseason. With the Cup already won, and his legacy already cemented, Chisling eyed the finish line his bones had been aching for.

With S11’s preparations underway, Chisling approached the podium after a preseason tilt against the Toronto North Stars.

“I’m announcing today that S11 will be my last year in the SHL. I plan to work as hard as I can, be a leader and do everything I can to help the Dragons win the Cup. I have loved my time in the SHL, but I can’t do another offseason knowing that I am willfully going to put myself in pain and tear myself away from my wife and kids for another 50 game season in Alberta. I’d like to thank the fans, the front office and everyone that I’ve interacted in this Danish kid’s dream come true. Thank you.”

The S11 campaign was clear evidence that the end was here for Erik Chisling. His production regressed to 22 points, he had a -7 and he was ready to call it at the end of it all. Once the final whistle blew and the skates were hung up, Chisling finally kicked his feet up and had a sip of bourbon. His playing days were over. The Dragons honored his time with the franchise by raising his #77 into the Calgary Dragons Hall of Fame.

This wouldn’t be the final accolade the swift skating defenseman would receive from his playing days, however. One fateful day after S12, when Chisling was hard at work in his 2nd career in management, he received another phone call he’ll never forget.

“Is this Erik?”

“Yeah, who’s this?”

“This is Spangs, GM of the SHL.”

“Oh, hey Spangs, how’s it going?”

“Great. I wanted to be the first to congratulate you, you’ve been elected to the SHL Hall of Fame.”

There were no words. All the hard work, pain, triumph. It was all so validated. A short but memorable career, immortalized forever. All from some black-haired kid from Copenhagen, Denmark.

History was made.

2512 words, double media

RIP Dangel. See you on the other side, brother

First.

For sweet Sigs @sve7en
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