Roque Davis - Junior Review
D | 6' 4" | 215 lb. | Age: 18 |
How do you become a hockey player when you’re born in a country where it’s almost impossible to find snow? For the majority of players with Portuguese ancestry, that first step is to move to Canada. At the young age of 7, Roque Davis was showing early signs of athleticism and enjoyed playing soccer. His parents planned to put him into soccer after the initial shock of the move had abated but it wasn’t long after landing in Calgary when Roque posed the question to his parents, “All of the kids at school play hockey! Can I play?”
Early on in his development, the coaches let his parents know that Roque was going to be something special. He was a gifted skater and had a unique perspective on the game. While Roque was a confident and strong performer, he never enjoyed the flashy play that some of the other kids were about. For that reason, he and his coaches decided it was best that he focused on becoming a puck-moving defenceman to support the team and because it was a style of play he was comfortable with.
As he worked on his new role, Davis looked towards the big leagues for role models and quickly found one quite close to home. While he and his dad regularly went to Flames and Wranglers games, only one player really caught his eye and that was Mark Giordano. Focusing on his passing and taking on a sturdy leadership role within his groups, Davis led each team he was on to playoff appearances as he worked his way through the leagues available to him.
It wasn’t until his final year of high school when Davis started considering his options. There were two obvious choices if he was going to go pro; the NHL and the VHL. Both leagues had a presence in Calgary yet neither had really piqued his interest in the past. In the end, the reason that Roque chose to pursue a professional VHL career was the prospect of playing in Europe. With that choice made and the VHLM trade deadline coming up, Davis’ agent was able to land him on one of the leading teams, the Mississauga Hounds.
In his first handful of games with the team, he has been an offensive contributor and a staunch defender. Davis’ performance has set the stage for him to be drafted very early in both the upcoming VHLM draft and the S71 VHL draft, the expectation that he’s taken in the top 3 overall in each. With that already being a lock and as we head down the stretch to the postseason, Roque’s focus is on chasing the cup. Is there any better way to start a professional hockey career?
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