MONTREAL – There are two sides to every story and Jared Davidson’s junior career is one of them.
Frankly, it was a slow start – too slow for comfort, the Edmonton, AB native would tell you. Matter of fact, his junior days were nearly over before they even began.
The Canadiens’ 2022 fifth-round pick was passed on through 308 selections in the 2017 WHL Bantam Draft, then cut from his Midget AAA team in his post-draft season.
Skip ahead six years and Davidson was lifting the Ed Chynoweth Cup as a 2023 WHL Champion and five-year member of the Seattle Thunderbirds.
The canadiens.com staff caught up with the 21-year-old at the 2023 Prospects Challenge in Buffalo.
Here are a few highlights from the Q&A:
Please note that questions and answers have been modified for concision and clarity.
Davidson on being passed on in the 2017 WHL Bantam Draft, and 2020 and 2021 NHL Drafts:
Everyone goes through their hard times, especially in hockey. There's a whole bunch of ups and downs, but just being able to bounce back and knowing that it's not the end of the road, you just got to keep working. That's kind of what my parents taught me throughout my life: not getting the first opportunity doesn't mean you're done; you just got to work harder and prove some people wrong. I think that's kind of what I did. I continued to work and not give up on anything I did.
Davidson on his thoughts of being a late bloomer:
Getting drafted a little bit later gave me more time to develop. Like you said, late bloomer. It’s nice being able to play junior until you're 20. You have a little bit more time to develop and kind of work on some things. It's nice for some guys to get drafted younger but if not, it just gives you a little bit more motivation and stuff to work on.
Davidson on his confidence after a WHL Championship and individual success in 2023:
It's pretty high. Especially winning last year. Just all of that success; team success, individual success, it makes everything go a little bit easier. Doesn't mean you stop working, but it definitely means you have something to fall back on. You kind of know that you've done stuff before you've been able to overcome challenges. So yeah, a lot of confidence.
