DAVIES HONING IN ON THE 'LITTLE THINGS' TO FURTHER HIS DEVELOPMENT
Dec 12, 2022By Suzie Cool
We’ll admit it, sometimes defensemen just don’t get enough love. They’re not the ones we always see scoring big goals in big moments or on the scoresheet every single night, however, that hasn’t been the case for Rochester Americans blueliner Jeremy Davies as of late.
Let’s rewind to two weeks ago.
For the second time in four games, the Amerks scored in the waning seconds of overtime, as Davies netted his second of the night with eight seconds remaining in the extra frame to lift Rochester to a 4-3 win over the Cleveland Monsters on Thursday, Dec. 1. Davies’ two-goal effort was his first multi-point game of the 2022-23 season, and just his second multi-goal game of his professional career.
“He’s playing very good. He's played good all year, he's defending really hard, he’s taking time and space away, he’s been physical, he's been a real good defender offensively and he’s very talented,” said Amerks head coach Seth Appert when asked about Davies’ overtime heroics he’s seen come to life since the start of December.
Davies has been one of the mainstays on the Rochester blueline all season. Aside from a short recall to the Buffalo Sabres at the beginning of November, Davies has appeared in 19 of the Amerks’ 23 games this season, posting five points on two goals and three assists. Four of the fourth-year pro’s points have come in his last five games.
“When you're that good defensively, you have the puck a lot and then his offensive skills started to shine,” continued Appert in reference to Davies’ performance in overtime against the Monsters. “Sometimes when you're a defenseman, you think carrying it is going to get you offense but, a lot of times, it's moving it and getting it back. He has the ability to carry it like he did with the overtime game-winner, but at the same point in time, he was really distributing the puck well.”
And, this all began when Davies decided to just relax and simplify his game a little.
“I think every player goes through it at every level,” said Davies when asked how simplifying his game can be helpful for production. “It's just kind of moving the puck up the ice and letting the forwards do their job. So, just coming to the realization that your teammates are out there to help you and we're all playing together and we're all working off each other.”
Davies then added that simplifying his game starts with trusting the young, talented forwards that he’s able to play with each night, making it that much easier to trust that simplicity might just lead to more offense for the blueliner.
“It starts with our forward play,” commented Davies when asked how the environment in Rochester allows him to simplify his game. “We have a really fast, skilled forward group and that's kind of what you look for in a forward group if you’re a defenseman…but we have a great forward group, one of the best in the league, and it makes our jobs easier as defensemen to just find them out there to create offense.”
Davies is still getting used to the team around him, after all, it’s first year in the Buffalo organization after signing a one-year contract with the Sabres in July. But, despite it being the defender’s first year in Rochester, he feels he has a lot of experience to offer.
And right now, it’s showing.
“I think even though it's just my first year here I have some experience to offer in this league. It's my fourth year now playing pro and it's no secret that we have a pretty young team here,” commented Davies when asked what his exact role in Rochester has been. “It's not an easy league and you got to play hard in this league if you want to be successful, but at the same time, I just want to help the team win and focus on my own game. Make sure I'm taking the right steps forward to develop because we're all working towards that goal to become full time NHL players.”
As young as the Amerks are, Davies is looked to as one of the older players on the team. However, Davies is still young himself being just 26 years old and in his fourth year in the pros.
“I think the organization itself gives us all the resources we need to really hone in on our games,” explained Davies when asked what steps were the right ones in order to further his development while in the Buffalo organization. “Whether it's doing video with the coaching staff or shooting pucks in the shooting room or, you know, staying on after practice – I think it's those little things that kind of add up and if you really have, say, the proper mentality during practice, and treat it like a game, I think that organically your game is going to move in the right direction.”
Prior to coming to Rochester, Davies appeared in 125 games in the American Hockey League between the Milwaukee Admirals and Chicago Wolves, while also appearing in 22 games in the NHL with the Nashville Predators. While it’s evident that Davies’ offensive skillset is starting to come to life while with the Buffalo organization, along with his defensive game remaining his strongest component, the fourth-year pro wants to continue to hone in on the little details to make sure that he’s working in the right direction to get back in the NHL full-time.
This time, hopefully, with Buffalo.