Silvertips defenseman Davis quietly putting together career season

Published 8:15 pm Thursday, January 5, 2017

EVERETT — Perhaps the biggest thing Everett Silvertips assistant coach Mitch Love has learned in his career is that he can’t coach every single Everett defenseman the same way.

Some defensemen like to hit and enjoy the physical component of the game. Others prefer to utilize skill, skating ability and finesse.

Kevin Davis, Everett’s fourth-year blueliner is certainly the latter. The soft-spoken alternate captain is quietly putting together a career season as the Silvertips enter Friday’s 7:35 p.m. game against the Seattle Thunderbirds at ShoWare Center nine points up on Tri-City for first place in the U.S. Division.

“I often say guys play to their personalities,” said Love, a former hard-hitting, fan-favorite defenseman on head coach Kevin Constantine’s early Silvertips teams. “I think he’s the type of guy where once he gets comfortable in a setting and understands what he can and can’t do, we’re finally seeing what he can do and he’s getting rewarded for that.”

A native of Kamloops, B.C., Davis hasn’t garnered as much attention as teammate Noah Juulsen who was taken three rounds later in the same bantam draft. But both have played regular minutes as top-four defensemen for four years.

“I think one thing you learn in this business is that certain guys take a little longer to see the fruit of the loom and I think (Davis) is that guy,” Love said. “And it’s just been really nice to watch his progression and success this year.”

Davis has been a big reason the Tips have gone 4-2-1 without Juulsen and goalie Carter Hart who are competing at World Juniors. Losing two players to the same Team Canada roster is a first for the Silvertips and it could have hit the WHL’s top defense extremely hard.

But it hasn’t.

“I’m a 19-year-old guy now so I’ve got to take charge and just go with it,” Davis said. “All the D-men knew we had to step it up a little bit because Juuls is a big factor, obviously our captain. We’re doing a pretty good job I think.”

Davis receives plenty of ice time due to the trust he has engendered with his coaches as well as the necessity created in Juulsen’s absence.

“He’s just like the engine that keeps going — he’s a well-conditioned kid,” Love said. “I feel like I can play him about 25 minutes a night no problem and he barely looks like he even sweats or comes off the ice with his heart pounding. So he’s a unique kid like that and he’s been like that his whole career.”

Davis is also seeing his hard work come to fruition on the score sheet. He has watched his assist total explode from just 13 last season to 28 already this season. You add in his three goals, and his 31 points are already a career high, surpassing the 25 he registered during the 2014-15 season. Much of that is due to his assuming the quarterback role on the top power-play unit.

“It’s working really well right now,” Davis said. “We’ve just always got to prepare ourselves in the power play meetings, and our whole power-play unit does a really good job.”

Davis’ 17 power-play assists are fifth overall in the WHL and first among defensemen. He possesses exceptional passing ability and looks to find lanes through traffic for either a shot on net or to create rebounds and shots for teammates.

“Kevin has never really been a shot-first type of guy,” Love said. “When you’re a pass-first guy teams start to pre-scout and anticipate that and he’s got such good hockey sense that when it is time to shoot he does get pucks to the net.”

The leadership role is also something into which Davis has grown. The Silvertips shored up their defense with an eye toward the postseason Wednesday when they acquired 20-year-old Aaron Irving from Edmonton. While that puts the total number of blueliners at eight, the fact remains that half of them are in their first or second year in the league.

“The most important part is, if you have young ‘D,’ you need leadership,” Constantine said. “You need the older guys to lead in terms of amount of ice time, practice habits, everything that would go into being a leader. I think that’s where his biggest growth for me this year is. He’s blossomed a little bit in terms of leadership. More willing to speak up, more willing to talk.”

Davis wasn’t selected following his draft year in 2015, but he did attend training camp with the Edmonton Oilers. Love, who signed with Colorado following his overage season in Everett, said Davis could potentially earn a professional tryout at season’s end.

However, first up is Friday’s game at Kent. The Tips travel to Portland Saturday for a game with the Winterhawks at Memorial Coliseum. Everett returns home Wednesday for a mid-week matchup at 7:05 p.m. with the Spokane Chiefs.

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