No Ordinary Jo — Jordan Davie a key cog in Leafs wheel of fortune
By Bruce Fuhr
At 5’11”, 195-pounds, Jordan (call me Jo) Davie moves through the NDCC neutral zone like a heat-seeking missile as he hounds opposition defenders for the puck.
Acquired in a trade with Victoria Cougars of the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League, the 20-year-old Davie looks to be a key cog to a Leafs team filled with young faces.
And following an opening weekend where the Green and White lost two close games, Davie will be counted on to help right the ship sooner than later.
“We’re not worried yet,” Davie told The Nelson Daily following Saturday’s 4-3 Kootenay International Junior Hockey League loss to Fernie Ghostriders.
“It’s obviously frustrating because you never want to lose. But we have a long season ahead and it’s not the first two games that dictate the season it’s a long six-month season that defines a team.”
Davie is no stranger to the Heritage City or a Leaf franchise rich in hockey tradition.
The burley forward grew up watching Leafs teams as a member of Nelson Minor Hockey.
“I played a couple of games as a 16-year-old and playing Victoria was a lot of fun, but there’s not many franchises like Nelson,” Davie said.
“This is a great community here that’s basically home for me,” he added. “There’s an unreal coaching staff and an unreal fan base to play in front of.”
Davie joined Nelson Minor Hockey at a young age, playing right through Bantam before heading to the Okanagan Hockey Academy as a 16-year-old.
He then ended up in the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League with Victoria Cougars where he played the past three seasons.
On the Island, the Cougars amassed a rich winning tradition Davie hopes he can bring to Nelson.
“When I was in Victoria we did a lot of winning so I feel I can bring that winning attitude, leadership and that experience I have in hockey to this team,” said Davie, who played 83 games with the Cougars.
“I’ve played long seasons, and gone into May with (Cougars). I’ve gone to two Cyclone Taylor Cups so I feel that experience helps especially with such a young team like ours.”
It’s pretty obvious McLellan recruited young to continue the Leaf philosophy of giving the players the right skills to advance to the next level.
So along with the seasoned coaching staff, it’s up to Davie to help groom those young players.
“We have so many rookies and not a lot of them know about what the junior experience is like,” he said.
“You can watch all you want but you don’t know about it until you play. And I think I can help out those guys.”
Obviously, starting out winless after week one of the KIJHL schedule is not what anyone on the Leafs were looking to hang in the standings.
However, due to a condensed training camp and exhibition season, Leaf players had little time to digest McLellan’s schemes.
Now, after a week of practice, there are no excuses.
“This week is going to be huge for us,” Davie exclaimed.
“We’re going to work hard, we’re going to fix our power play . . . we’re going to teach the young guys how to play defence and how to fore check, so this is going to be a big week of practice for us.”
Game time Friday is 7 p.m. against the Spokane Braves.
ICE CHIPS: The Leafs travel to Grand Forks to meet the Border Bruins Sunday. . . . There promises to be a few more changes to the roster as Junior A team continue to shuffle their lineups. Nelson coaching staff has two to three players coming into camp this week. . . . Castlegar Rebels travel east to meet Columbia Valley and Golden while Murdoch leading Beaver Valley faces Grand Forks Friday before hosting Osoyoos Coyotes Saturday.
