Blades’ Davidson named CHL Player of the Week
Toronto, Ont. – The Canadian Hockey League today announced that defenceman Dawson Davidson of the Saskatoon Blades in the Western Hockey League is the CHL Player of the Week for the regular season week ending October 7 with eight points (1G-7A) in four games along with a plus-minus rating of plus-6.
Davidson leads the CHL in scoring among defencemen following a week where a trio of multi-point performances helped spark three straight wins for the Blades lifting them into second place in the WHL’s Eastern Conference standings with a 6-2-0-0 record. The three Blades wins came at the end of a four-game Alberta road trip that began last Tuesday night with a 5-4 loss to the Red Deer Rebels with Davidson tallying two assists. The next night in Edmonton, Davidson matched a season-high with a goal and two assists earning third-star honours in a 5-3 victory that handed the Oil Kings their first loss of the season.
His weekend included one assist as part of a 3-0 win over the Calgary Hitmen on Friday, then two assists as second star of a 3-2 shootout win over the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Saturday. Davidson’s point total last week included four even strength marks and four on special teams including three with the man advantage. He is the second member of the Blades to earn CHL Player of the Week honours in three weeks this season following forward and 2019 NHL Draft prospect Kirby Dach.
A 20-year-old from Moosomin, Sask., Davidson is playing in his fifth WHL season since joining the league as a third round selection, 58th overall, of the Kamloops Blazers in the 2013 WHL Bantam Draft. The majority of his career was spent in Kamloops playing 124 games for the Blazers before a trade led him to the Regina Pats where he finished the 2016-17 campaign and started 2017-18. Since being acquired by the Blades last season, his tenure has included 34 games where he amassed 28 points including two goals and 10 assists for 12 points in eight games this season, making him one of three Blades skaters, along with Dach and Washington Capitals prospect Eric Florchuk, to be averaging a point-per-game or better this season. Davidson also leads the WHL in defensive scoring this season.
Also considered for the award this week was fellow overage defenceman Gabriel Bilodeau of the Gatineau Olympiques who scored once with four assists for five points in a trio of victories. In the OHL, Philadelphia Flyers prospect Isaac Ratcliffe of the Guelph Storm scored three goals and two assists for five points in a pair of wins.
2018-19 CHL Player of the Week
Oct. 1 – Oct. 7: Dawson Davidson, Saskatoon Blades
Sept. 24 – Sept. 30: Luka Burzan (Brandon Wheat Kings)
Sept. 19 – Sept. 23: Kirby Dach (Saskatoon Blades)
About the Western Hockey League
Regarded as the world’s finest development league for junior hockey players, the Western Hockey League (WHL) head office is based in Calgary, Alberta. The WHL consists of 22 member Clubs with 17 located in Western Canada and five in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. A member of the Canadian Hockey League, the WHL has been a leading supplier of talent for the National Hockey League for over 50 years. The WHL is also the leading provider of hockey scholarships with over 350 graduates each year receiving WHL Scholarships to pursue a post-secondary education of their choice. Each season, WHL players also form the nucleus of Canada’s National Junior Hockey Team.