When the vote came in, it was unanimous. The RDP Kings hockey team named fourth-year defenceman Brennan Davis as their new captain.
“As a coaching staff, we discussed it, and we couldn’t have agreed more,” said Kings head coach Trevor Keeper. “He’s a responsible, mature player and he’s got the personality where his leadership skills have been evolving and he’s stepped up.”
Davis fits in perfectly, following in the footsteps of Chance Longjohn.
“It’s exciting for sure, a big pleasure following all the captains who have gone through here,” said Davis. “It was a great leadership core the entire time I’ve been here, and before, and I’m just trying to add to that.”
Davis, a 24-year-old native of Camrose, came to the Kings in the 201-22 season after four seasons with the Camrose Kodiaks of the AJHL.
During his final season with the Kodiaks he suffered a major eye injury which cost him all but three games that season and a portion of his first with the Kings. Since then, he’s had a number of injuries, including last year when a shoulder injury cost him the second half of the season and an opportunity to be on the ice as the Kings won their second straight ACAC title.
But Davis showed why he’s captain material by not sitting back and feeling sorry for himself.
“Going through adversity like that was tough personally, but as I said, our leadership group helped me through it, and I didn’t feel like I was missing out on anything. I was hanging with the guys lots, so it was good to be close to the guys during that time.”
Brennan was having an all-star season before the injury and was glad he could look back and see he played a part in the championship run.
“Everyone plays a huge role in winning a championships – it just doesn’t come down to one game, it’s the whole season building up to that. That’s why our culture is important here.”
Davis knows he’s just part of a larger group of veteran players who fit into that leadership role.
“We’ve had a lot of guys who fit into that group and hold that leadership standard pretty high. We still have a few guys who can wear that letter.
“The culture here is unbelievable. You can see it as soon as you come onto the team. The older guys bring the new guys in right away … everyone holds everyone else to the same standard and hold them accountable.
“There’s definitely a big learning curve for the new guys but we’re holding everyone to a high standard to win and I plan on doing that.”
Keeper has never had a captain who wasn’t among the older group.
“I’ve never had a captain who wasn‘t a fourth or fifth-year player,” he said. “It takes some grooming to see what it’s like and we’ve been fortunate to have some good ones over the years.
“Brennan is the kind of guy who wants to be successful, wants to be a good captain and a leader past his hockey career. He’s looking at life beyond hockey and wants to hone those leadership skills so he’ll be a good captain. He’s not just expecting to wear the “C” on the ice but take it as far as it goes.”
Davis is quick to agree.
“The leadership skills obviously transfer to your everyday life, so being a leader in the classroom, in the rink, just helps with everything you do in life. My overall goal is to be a counsellor someday, so I have leadership qualities for people to lean on me when times are tough or whatever. That’s my main goal and being a better person overall.”
The Kings opened their regular season Friday at the Gary W Harris Canada Games Centre against the SAIT Trojans, who they face Saturday at Winsport in Calgary.
The RDP squad only played two exhibition games, both against SAIT after a number of USport teams pulled out of scheduled games.
As a result the Kings had a month of mainly practice time.
“The practices were competitive for sure,” said Davis with a laugh.
“There were some scuff-ups but nothing serious. The guys all wanted to get better and the pace at practice was high.
“The young guys from SJ (Saskatchewan Junior) practice hard. They’re ready to go. We only played two exhibition games, so the tempo was high in practice. It was good to see.”
The Kings did lose several high-end players this season, including Arik Weersink in goal, who was brilliant during the playoff runs in the last two seasons.
“We had some big losses but everyone we brought in bought into the system and we’re looking forward to the regular season,” said Davis. “We have two returning goalies (Evan Fradette and Kirstian Lyon) who were steady for us.”
The Kings looked good in their two preseason wins over SAIT – 7-2 and 4-1 – but now face them again.
“Four games in a row, I expect the emotions to run high,” said Davis. “They’re a good team and we’re excited to go up against them again and get the regular season going.”
Other RDP news the hockey Queens also face SAIT in league play – Saturday at 7 p.m. at RDP.
Basketball and volleyball have the weekend off before opening their regular schedule Oct. 25 against Ambrose. The volleyball is at RDP with the basketball in Calgary. They switch on Oct. 26.
The ACAC cross-country championship is also on Oct. 26 in Calgary.
Danny Rode is a retired Advocate reporter and member of the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame who can be reached at danrode@shaw.ca