EVERETT — Think of Kevin Davis as the Everett Silvertips’ silent assassin.
Everything about the 17-year-old defenseman is done with the volume knob turned down to one. Off the ice he’s soft-spoken to the point of shyness. On the ice he plays an understated game that often renders him nearly invisible to the casual viewer.
But in his own quiet way, Davis has become one of Everett’s best players.
Everett heads into its first three-in-three weekend of the season in first place in the U.S. Division, and the quietly excellent play of Davis has played an important role in the Tips’ quick start.
“I guess you could say I’m pretty quiet,” Davis said.
“I can’t complain with how I’m playing,” Davis added. “I think we’re playing well as a team, which I think is helping me play well as an individual.”
Davis, a second-year Silvertip who hails from Kamloops, B.C., began the season well statistically. With 13 points (two goals, 11 assists) in 17 games, he’s already surpassed the nine points he accumulated in 65 contests last season. He’s also taken just one minor penalty.
But Davis’ greatest value to the Tips isn’t measured in numbers. It’s measured in the subtle ways in which he makes it difficult for the opposition to score.
“All the things that make him effective are the same things we liked about him last year,” Everett coach Kevin Constantine said. “He cares about the game, he cares about his performance, he’s pretty fast. He’s able to defend really well because he’s such a good skater. He’s a guy who’s really trustworthy, really cares, and is really solid in his own end.”
The fact Davis is excelling in the WHL at the tender age of 17 isn’t surprising. He came to Everett with an excellent pedigree, being picked 11th overall in the first round of the 2012 bantam draft. He held his own as a 15-year-old in 2013-14 when he played in six games during the regular season and three in the playoffs. He made the team as a 16-year-old last season and skated a regular shift from day one. He’s been on Hockey Canada’s radar, playing for B.C. in the U-16 Western Canada Challenge Cup in 2012, then being one of the last cuts from Canada’s team for the U-18 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament this summer.
But the manner in which Davis excels isn’t the way that turns the heads of most observers. He’s modest sized at 6-foot and 180 pounds, and he doesn’t play an overly physical game. He’s a deceptively good skater, something that can easily be overlooked because his straight-ahead top-end speed is not remarkable. He rarely flashes anything in the way of fancy stickhandling, and he doesn’t possess a booming shot from the point. It’s not the kind of skill set that sets off scouts’ salivary glands, and as a result Davis was ranked just a C skater in the NHL Central Scouting Service’s preliminary watch list for the 2015 NHL draft, which suggests he’s on the borderline with regards to getting drafted.
However, Davis has the uncanny ability to anticipate where a play will break down and snuff out the threat before it develops. He has a quick first-step backwards, which makes it difficult for opposing forwards to beat him wide. And when he has the puck he always seems to make the smart, simple play. They may not be the type of contributions that grab headlines or dazzle crowds, but they’re the type that are greatly appreciated by coaches and teammates.
“I’ve always tried to do the little things right because those things matter in a big way,” Davis said. “Good things happen when you do the little things right and pay the price.”
Davis’ commitment to the quiet aspects of the game are a reflection of who he is off the ice.
“I think his game mirrors his personality a little bit — in a good way,” Constantine said. “Last year he came in as a rookie and a 16-year-old and was just trying to be helpful where he could. This year I think there’s a slightly more assertive personality because he’s a little older, a little more mature, a little more confident, and he’s experienced. There’s a little more of his game that you notice.
“When he’s 18 or 19 I think he’ll be very visible,” Constantine continued. “I think he’s maturing and growing as a person and a player in a perfect manner. The way he is as a person off the ice is mirroring what he is on the ice, and that’s a positive in his case.”
Meanwhile, the Tips will continue to enjoy Davis’ contributions, no matter how much — or how little — noise they make.
Injury update
Everett’s first three-in-three of the season — the Tips play home games against Portland and Kamloops on Friday and Saturday, respectively, followed by a game at Portland on Sunday — coincides with its longest injury list of the campaign as seven players were included on the weekly report. However, four of those — forward Gunnar Wegleitner, defensemen Noah Juulsen and Tristen Pfeifer, and goaltender Austin Lotz — all practiced at full speed this week and should be good to go. That leaves forwards Dawson Leedahl (knee), Remi Laurencelle (ankle) and Nik Malenica (upper body) as players who are questionable at best for the weekend.
Check out Nick Patterson’s Silvertips blog at http://www.heraldnet.com/silvertipsblog, and follow him on Twitter at @NickHPatterson.
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