Davies provides physical edge with skill

If bruising forwards who can score interest you, Isaac Davies may be a Brandon Wheat Kings prospect to keep an eye on.

The five-foot-10, 160-pound forward from Carstairs, Alta., had 27 goals, 24 assists and 48 penalty minutes in 33 games last season with the Airdrie Xtreme U15 AAA, but he may be even better known for his bruising style.

“I think I’m a really physical player,” Davies said. “I love to play on the gritty side of the puck and I love to finish my checks. I also think I can be a leader and really shoot the puck. That’s what I love to do when I’m on the ice and that’s what I think the scouts love.”

The physical youngster seemed to be following the same path as Wheat Kings veteran Matt Henry did at main camp last season: You don’t hit players too hard in an intrasquad game because you don’t want to hurt a potential teammate.

But it was clear he didn’t avoid contact.

Brandon’s director of player personnel Chris Moulton said after the draft his willingness to mix it up is a big part of a unique set of skills.

“Isaac is a big, strong guy, a straight-ahead kid,” Moulton said. “He works really hard, he loves to engage physically and does it very well, shoots the puck very well. Isaac is the type of player you love having on your team and you don’t like playing against most nights. On top of being hard to play against and a real competitor, he has the ability to also score.”

Davies lives with a foster family who adopted him — his parents are Jane and Tom — and has had a lot of kids through the house as he’s grown up. There are also five biological siblings out of the house.

He started skating at age three and began playing soon after, always up front at forward.

“Since I was a little kid, we did free skates on Sunday and I was always in the stroller going around the ice,” Davies said. “Once I got out, I’d lay on the ice and cry, and the next year I saw myself as the most improved player. I just loved it so that’s what got me into it.”

He usually lines up at left wing but sometimes moves into the middle to play centre. But that’s not necessarily the middle he sought to play in as a child.

“I always wanted to play goalie when I was younger because my brother was a goalie,” Davies said. “We liked to switch out sometimes.”

The personable youngster also played soccer, basketball and lacrosse, but has set those sports aside in recent years to focus on hockey. He said that’s because he wants to put his mind on hockey, which proved to be his favourite.

“I just love making new friends on different teams,” Davies said. “It’s just something I really loved to do since I was a little kid. I put my mind to it, and that’s what makes me love the game.”

In his minor bantam season in 2021-22, Davies had 13 goals, 10 assists and 62 penalty minutes in 33 games with the Xtreme U15 AAA team.

Entering this season, he knew it was his draft year but chose not to dwell on it.

“It wasn’t really on my mind until the day before, really,” Davies said. “I just tried to keep it off my mind so I could focus on my game and put my mind on whatever I was doing before that.”

On draft day, he was at school when the Wheat Kings took him in the fourth round with the 71st overall pick.

“It was a great feeling,” Davies said. “I was at school at the time and my teacher let me see my phone. When I got drafted, everybody was excited for me.”

He was also besieged with messages of congratulations.

Davies has been to Calgary Hitmen and Red Deer Rebels games in the past, so he has a good sense of what the first step into the WHL could mean. He’s excited about what could come next.

“It’s always been the goal,” Davies said of playing major junior hockey. “I just want to go as far as I can. Wherever I end off — there’s always a time when everybody stops — I just would just love to do something with sports still.”

Davies said he relishes the chance to compete, and every time he goes out, he tries to get better. To that end, he’s targeted parts of his game he wants to grow.

“I’m trying to improve on my stick handling right now,” Davies said. “I always love to work on my shot. That’s something I’m always working on and I see a lot of improvement in it.”

Even with the improvements he’s made, Davies admitted he had some butterflies when he made his first trip to Brandon for prospects camp, which started Friday afternoon and ended Sunday morning.

“On the plane trip here I had some nerves, and then I really thought about it,” Davies said. “I play with confidence so I tried to get the nerves off my mind, so that helps me.”

It apparently worked.

On a weekend in which there were a number of highlight reel plays, Davies made one of the best.

With the teams playing three-on-three on Sunday, Davies rushed back to foil a potential breakaway in his end, then raced back up the ice to create a two-on-one and buried a feed from Jaxon Jacobson.

It was his first trip to Brandon, and gave him a chance to get a sense of his new organization. He certainly didn’t have any complaints.

“I can tell it’s a great facility here,” Davies said. “From what I’ve heard, it’s great development and I can see that through the team. I can tell all the guys here are leaders and that’s what I love to see.”

ICINGS: The Lethbridge Hurricanes dealt overage forward Tyson Laventure to the Swift Current Broncos on Monday for a fourth-round pick in the 2026 WHL draft. The 20-year-old from Lloydminster, Alta., was tied with former Wheat King Tyson Zimmer for third in team scoring last season with 48 points — 22 goals and 26 assists — in 62 games.

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