Josh, "the" Roque Davis HoF Story

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Roque Davis - Class of S84

User: @Josh

 

 

Position: Defenseman

Nationality: Portuguese

Height: 6'4"

Weight: 215 lbs.

VHL Drafted: 2nd OA, by the HC Davos Dynamo

VHLM Drafted: 6th OA, by the San Diego Marlins

Played for: Mississauga Hounds, San Diego Marlins, HC Davos Dynamo, Moscow Menace, Los Angeles Stars

 

 

Preface

(edited from the player's own Junior Review)

 

How do you become a hockey player if you are born in a country where it’s almost impossible to find snow? For 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. But not long after landing in Calgary, Roque had to ask a 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 would be something special. Something most coaches will do to motivate the parents to keep their kids engaged and focused. But this time, not only were those coaches doing that, but they found a diamond in the rough. This article proves that.

 

 

🎖 Career Awards 🎖

 

76 | Victory Cup

76 | Sterling Labatte Trophy

76 | Alexander Beketov Trophy

76 | Alexander Valiq Trophy

71 | Alexander Valiq Trophy

71 | Christian Stolzschweiger Trophy

70 | Ryan Sullivan Trophy

70 | Ethan Osborne Trophy

70 | Vladimir Boomchenko Trophy

 

 

 The VHLM 

 

First of all, starting your career in S69? Nice!

 

Getting 33 Points in 40 Games as a late season Free Agent signing? Pretty nice, too!

 

That late push with Mississauga set the tone for Davis' illustrious VHLM career. Regarded as one of the top prospects available, he was picked 6th OA by the San Diego Marlins - and, boy, was he worth the pick! The Marlins finished 2nd in the regular season, much to his efforts. The S70 Marlins still, to this day, hold an immense amount of records. Notoriously, the Marlins scored 1129 Points that season, and Roque's accounted for 154 of those.

 

They did lose in the semi-finals to the Ottawa Lynx. But that team had come 3rd in the regular season, only a couple of points behind the Marlins. But winning has to be the goal every time a team steps on the ice, and the Marlins got close but couldn't reach. Unfortunately, this was a sign of what was coming for Roque.

 

His play didn't go unnoticed, and that season with took home three different trophies. The Vladimir Boomchenko Trophy (given to the player with the most assists in the regular season), the Ethan Osborne (given to the player with the most points in the regular season), and the Ryan Sullivan, the latter given to the VHLM's Top Defenseman.

 

Regular Season Stats

70 (SDM), 72 Games Played, 36 Goals, 118 Assists, 154 Points, +109 Plus/Minus, 340 Shots, 71 Hits, 108 Shots Blocked, 3 Game Winning Goals, 13 Powerplay Goals

69 (MIS), 25 Games Played, 6 Goals, 15 Assist, 21 Points, +10 Plus/Minus, 42 Shots, 36 Hits, 22 Shots Blocked, 2 Game Winning Goals, 5 Powerplay Goals

 

Playoffs Stats

70 (SDM), 10 Games Played, 6 Goals, 13 Assists, 19 Points, +15 Plus/Minus, 32 Shots, 6 Hits, 15 Shots Blocked, 1 Game Winning Goals, 2 Powerplay Goals

69 (MIS), 15 Games Played, 5 Goals, 7 Assists, 12 Points, +1 Plus/Minus, 39 Shots, 22 Hits, 18 Shots Blocked, 1 Game Winning Goals, 3 Powerplay Goals

 

 

A Strong Start 

 

As expected by the Mock Drafts around the VHL, with the 1st OA selection, Riga picked Kyl Oferson, who had the task of replacing newly retired Ryan Kastelic. With the 2nd OA, HC Davos didn't flinch at the opportunity to add a talent like Roque Davis. He was to be the center stone of the rebuilding Davos squad and a great one at it. Expectations were high for the Portuguese, but after everything he'd been through, he was already used to it.

 

The first two seasons of Roque's career were still played on a VHL with 12 teams, but that didn't matter. Davos wasn't a great team, as they had to build a new roster from scratch during that off-season. Even so, Roque managed to assert himself in the league and got recognized for it. Roque was selected as the most outstanding rookie and took the Christian Stolzschweiger Trophy home. But there was more. Even as a rookie, Roque was awarded the Alexander Valiq Trophy, an award given to the top offensive defenseman in the VHL.

 

Roque's second season in the VHL saw Davos make a jump forward. After finishing S71 at the bottom of the league, with 55 points and 13 points behind the penultimate team, Davos got better... way better. They finished season 72 with 77 points. That's a 40% increase, the best in the league that season. Roque got better that season, maybe not in the usual stats, but he improved as a team leader and a character on the ice. He scored only 4 more points but went from -18 to a +22 (plus/minus) on what still only was a regular team. This season, there were no accolades, but there were playoffs, and that's even better. But Davos wasn't experienced enough and got swept in the first round by the Riga Reign, who won the Continental Cup.

 

The third season in the VHL came with 4 new expansion teams and another HC Davos regression, which unfortunately also took Davis hostage. This was one of the worst seasons of Davis' career. Davos ended up making the playoffs, but it was only to be swept again in the first round, which was now a wildcard round. We skip ahead.

 

Regular Season Stats

73 (DAV), 72 Games Played, 16 Goals, 42 Assists, 58 Points, +7 Plus/Minus, 227 Shots, 165 Hits, 125 Shots Blocked, 3 Game Winning Goals, 2 Powerplay Goals

72 (DAV), 72 Games Played, 15 Goals, 58 Assists, 73 Points, +22 Plus/Minus, 183 Shots, 134 Hits, 141 Shots Blocked, 1 Game Winning Goals, 3 Powerplay Goals

71 (DAV), 72 Games Played, 25 Goals, 44 Assist, 69 Points, -18 Plus/Minus, 233 Shots, 127 Hits, 131 Shots Blocked, 3 Game Winning Goals, 9 Powerplay Goals

 

Playoffs Stats

73 (DAV), 5 Games Played, 2 Goals, 3 Assists, 5 Points, 0 Plus/Minus, 21 Shots, 21 Hits, 7 Shots Blocked, 0 Game Winning Goals, 2 Powerplay Goals

72 (DAV), 4 Games Played, 0 Goals, 23 Assists, 2 Points, +2 Plus/Minus, 17 Shots, 8 Hits, 14 Shots Blocked, 0 Game Winning Goals, 0 Powerplay Goals

 

 

Reaching The Peak

 

S74 saw Roque Davis getting back to the business of being Roque Davis. Davos improved residually, but Davis' efforts were reminiscing of his earlier seasons. We saw him freely roaming the ice, passing, scoring, hitting, and blocking. A truly versatile player. It seemed like everything was in place, but Davos played in a stacked European Conference and finished 6th. 5 points behind 3rd, 1 point behind 4th, and tied for 5th place... Davos still missed out on the playoffs.

 

The season ended with no playoffs or accolades. Davis was now an established veteran in the league and wouldn't take this anymore. There were greener pastures on the other side, and it wasn't because he wasn't watering his own.

 

He moved to Moscow, eager to prove himself. Keen to prove he wasn't the problem in Davos. Was he right? You tell me. In S75, Moscow made the playoffs after finishing 4th. Davos missed the playoffs in 6th. In S76, Moscow led the league, and Roque had the best season of his career. Davos was dead last on a season performance that still stands in the Top 10 of their worst seasons.

 

Davis' tenure in Moscow must be measured by their accomplishments in the playoffs. That's what he went there for and where the Moscow team was built to play. 

 

In S75, as they finished 4th meant they'd be facing the 5th on the European Conference standings, the London United. Moscow only outscored London by 2 points in the regular season, but that series showed who the better team was. And most importantly, who the best player was. Even with Erik Killinger, a fellow S71 draftee, on the ice, Roque Davis was a step above. In the Conference Semi-Finals, Moscow met the Helsinki Titans... and what a series that one was! To 7 games, it went, and each of them was worthy of the playoffs. And again, repeating his play from the wildcard round, Roque Davis was the best player on the ice, even with another draft classmate on the ice, Ola Vikingstad. As Moscow reached the Conference Finals, we could see the motivation in their eyes. After all, they had just beaten the 1st-place Titans, but perhaps that wasn't the best thing in the world. Malmo explored the cracks in the Menace's game, something we hadn't seen before, but maybe because they weren't there. And so, they beat Moscow in 6 games and went on to win the Continental Cup.

 

S76's playoff run wasn't as glamorous as the previous. After a great regular season that saw them top the table with 112 Points, they had more trouble than what would have been expected to overcome the Helsinki Titans in the first round. It took them seven games to finish that series, and they would have a much stronger opponent in the Conference Finals. If the 112 Points scored by the Menace were impressive, the 110 points that the Aloe Dear-led Predators scored didn't stay far behind. And thus, Moscow was beaten in 7 games, and Warsaw went on to fight for the Continental Cup, where they lost to Chicago.

 

Regular Season Stats

76 (MOS), 72 Games Played, 17 Goals, 86 Assists, 103 Points, +43 Plus/Minus, 261 Shots, 206 Hits, 161 Shots Blocked, 2 Game Winning Goals, 10 Powerplay Goals

75 (MOS), 72 Games Played, 19 Goals, 59 Assists, 78 Points, +15 Plus/Minus, 273 Shots, 241 Hits, 126 Shots Blocked, 3 Game Winning Goals, 7 Powerplay Goals

74 (DAV), 72 Games Played, 22 Goals, 55 Assist, 77 Points, +22 Plus/Minus, 259 Shots, 241 Hits, 131 Shots Blocked, 5 Game Winning Goals, 8 Powerplay Goals

 

Playoffs Stats

76 (MOS), 14 Games Played, 1 Goal, 14 Assists, 15 Points, +1 Plus/Minus, 33 Shots, 26 Hits, 32 Shots Blocked, 0 Game Winning Goals, 1 Powerplay Goal

75 (MOS), 17 Games Played, 10 Goals, 16 Assists, 26 Points, +9 Plus/Minus, 55 Shots, 39 Hits, 35 Shots Blocked, 3 Game Winning Goals, 6 Powerplay Goals

 

 

After-hours

 

Two more seasons had passed, and Roque Davis was now entering the twilight of his illustrious career. Yet again, he found himself in a situation where major career decisions had to be made.

 

The dominance of Moscow was coming to an end, and Roque knew that, so he started scouting the market. He had two years left in his career, but his S76 performance had gotten him three different individual awards, two of them new. He was awarded the Alexander Valiq Trophy for the second time in his career. But added the Alexander Beketov (Assist Leader) and the Sterling Labatte (Top Defenseman) Trophies.

 

He decided to sign with the Los Angeles Stars. Not an awful decision since staying in Moscow would lead him to be bottom of the league for the last two years of his career, but also not the best choice. This moved him to the North American Conference for the first time in his career, moving him closer to home, but his performances weren't up to par. Both seasons in Los Angeles gave him career lows if you disregard that awful S73 Davos campaign.

 

Season 77 saw the Stars finishing 4th in the North American Conference. They finished the season with the best defense in the conference but at the same time lost too many points at home. The consistency just wasn't there, and it was felt in their playoff run. They started hot, winning the Wildcard series against the 5th-placed Vancouver Wolves in 4 games. Managed to stay that way against 1st place Chicago, sweeping them in the Conference Semi-Finals. But when the going became tough, they were no Ford F-150 and were swept by the Seattle Bears, who went on to lift the Cup.

 

Season 78 was the sequel to the previous season. The Stars didn't manage to improve, while their star collapsed. Playing, by far, the worst season of his career on an underperforming squad, the Los Angeles Stars didn't make the playoffs. And the last game Roque Davis ever played was an OT thriller against the worst team in the league that season.

 

Regular Season Stats

78 (LAS), 72 Games Played, 12 Goals, 38 Assists, 50 Points, +6 Plus/Minus, 230 Shots, 105 Hits, 146 Shots Blocked, 1 Game Winning Goals, 7 Powerplay Goals

77 (LAS), 72 Games Played, 18 Goals, 46 Assist, 64 Points, +3 Plus/Minus, 240 Shots, 58 Hits, 172 Shots Blocked, 2 Game Winning Goals, 12 Powerplay Goals

 

Playoffs Stats

77 (LAS), 12 Games Played, 3 Goals, 13 Assists, 16 Points, +6 Plus/Minus, 47 Shots, 14 Hits, 26 Shots Blocked, 0 Game Winning Goals, 1 Powerplay Goals

 

 

Epilogue

 

Roque Davis' story started with an underdog for the protagonist. In the beginning, you were almost rooting for him, hoping his move between countries would go almost flawlessly.

 

After a while, you understood that Roque was, in fact, remarkable and that his move to Canada wasn't a handicap on his development but a gift that allowed him to discover his passion.

 

When Roque was at the top of his game, you stopped rooting for him and started wishing for the opposite. He must have been given everything, so let's not make it any easier on him. Let's make him work. And work he did.

 

Roque Davis' 11th in TPE*, at the moment this article is being written. He has individual accolades but will not be able to compete for a Continental Cup ever again. Of those 10 players above him, only Hunter Hearst Helmsley has also not won a Continental.

 

Hence, Roque Davis deserves this spot in the Hall of Fame, and it doesn't matter that it took him 6 seasons to get here. His story is built on grit. Being ever so close to achieving the ultimate goal but never being able to do it. Yet he never quit, and he always gave us his whole.

 

That's what we'll remember him by. That's his legacy.

 

VHL Career Totals

 

Regular Season: 576 Games Played, 144 Goals, 428 Assists, 572 Points, +100 +/-, 1185 Hits, 1133 Shots Blocked

Playoffs: 52 Games Played, 16 Goals, 48 Assists, 64 Points, +18 +/-, 108 Hits, 114 Shots Blocked

 

 

Spoiler

*source of information, VHL Portal