Zach Davies is on his way to the big time.
The 25-year-old Smithers born and raised defenceman recently received a call up to the AHL’s Abbotsford Heat, from the ECHL’s Alaska Aces.
Since then, the mobile, well-rounded, rearguard has played in seven games for the Heat, registering one goal, while taking a regular shift on the powerplay.
It’s been quite a journey for Davies.
While playing rep hockey for the Storm in Smithers, he was a talented, goal-scoring forward.
“He was the most offensively gifted player that I have ever coached,” then coach Dave Tucker said. “He was unbelievable one-on-one, we would just chip it out of the zone and let him score.”
Tucker recounted a game in a bantam tournament, where the team was down five goals in the third period and Davies scored five on his own in the final 20 minutes to tie the game.
After his Storm career ended, Davies didn’t follow the traditional route, going through the WHL, rather, the late-bloomer played three years in Junior-A for the Prince George Spruce Kings.
“For me it was the right decision,” Davies said. “I was a skinny kid. It gave me a chance to mature, put some weight on and get an education.”
It was there that the Spruce Kings converted him from forward to defenceman, to take advantage of his effortless skating.
After three seasons in the BCHL, Davies received a scholarship to Quinnipiac University in Connecticut to play for the ECAC’s Bobcats.
The Bobcats were a lesser-known NCAA team when he started.
But in Davies’ final season as a senior, he helped bring the team to U.S. national prominence.
The program reached new heights in 2013, rising to the number one ranked team in the U.S. in the USA Today College Hockey poll.
Davies led the Bobcats in ice-time and points among defencemen and was eventually named the Eastern Collegiate Athlete Conference Defenceman of the Year.
“He was a quiet leader for us,” Bobcats’ coach Rand Pecknold said. “He’s not one to be aggressive and find the cameras or mics or anything like that. He’s handled it well. He deserved it.”
The Bobcats went on to win their first ever Cleary Cup as the ECAC regular season champion.
On March 24, 2013, the Bobcats received the number one overall seed in the 2013 NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament. They made it all the way to the national championship before losing to Yale, 4-0.
It was a bittersweet ending to Davies’ collegiate career.
Davies graduated with a bachelors and masters in business administration, and a 3.85 GPA.
In the summer, he signed a one-year deal with the Calgary Flames, expecting to at least make the team’s AHL affiliate Abbotsford Heat out of training camp.
But a broken arm sidelined Davies until January.
Rather than throw him into the fire, the club sent him to Alaska to play for the ECHL’s Aces to get acclimatized to professional hockey.
There, he was one of the best defencemen in the league, tallying seven goals and 10 assists in 31 games (7-10-17).
“He was a really important player for us,” Alaska Aces head coach Rob Murray said.
“We wish him all the best going forward, he has all the tools to succeed at the next level.”
Now, Davies will spend the rest of the season learning the Heat’s system and working on aspects of his game the coaching staff deems lacking.
“I think they are picking apart little parts and saying you need to improve this or that. It’s just elevating. Every level you go up there are things that you have to adapt to. It’s a learning experience.”
After the year he’ll have to decide whether or not to continue with hockey in North America or consider offers in Europe.
“I’m just worried about playing well this season and when the season is over we will make our decision. I’ll talk things over with my fiancée and see where we need to go from there.”
Davies love of the game began some 20 years ago in Smithers initiation hockey.
“I had a lot of great coaches growing up,” Davies said. “Mark Perry was my first coach, he really made hockey fun for everyone. And Dave Tucker and Don Pederson were all helpful through those years. I played a lot and learned a lot.”
Tucker had nothing but praise for Davies. He’d like to see him make it to the next level.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if Zach was playing in the NHL one day,” Tucker said.
“He is such a smart player, if he puts his mind to it and he really wants it, he’ll do it. He’s that good.”