(Kamloops) Jared Davidson spoke about his parents when asked why he never gives up.
“That’s how I was raised,” said the Seattle Thunderbirds forward and Montreal Canadiens prospect. They taught me to never give up no matter what I was doing. »
“Whether it was in school, in hockey, in any sport, they didn’t want me to give up. They want me to try to surpass myself, to work hard, and if I do that, the result will come by itself. »
Davidson was skipped twice in the NHL Draft before being selected in the fifth round, 130e in total, by the Canadiens in 2022. Playing a fifth season with the Thunderbirds, he will try to help the team win the Memorial Cup for the first time. He has had one goal and five assists so far.
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, PRESS ARCHIVES
Jared Davidson at Canadiens training camp
Davidson’s approach is the same with all of his teammates, who were motivated by a loss in the WHL Finals last year.
“I don’t know what else to say about this team. It’s a resilient group, Davidson said. Whenever an opportunity presented itself to us, we delivered the goods. »
The Thunderbirds will cross swords with the Quebec Remparts on Sunday. The Remparts are aiming for a third Memorial Cup title, and their first since 2006.
The Remparts had the best 3-1 over the Thunderbirds in their preliminary game last Monday. Since then, the Thunderbirds have defeated the Kamloops Blazers 6-1 to reach the semifinals and the Peterborough Petes 4-1 to advance to the final.
For their part, the Remparts have been on leave since Tuesday, when they lost to the Petes when they were already assured of a place in the final.
“They’re a big challenge because they’re a great team,” Thunderbirds head coach Matt O’Dette said of the QMJHL champions. After our loss to them, we worked in hopes of being able to face them again.
“We have accomplished this task, but there is still one last effort to be made. »
O’Dette is hopeful the scenario will be different in Sunday’s final.
“I think we had a good match, he first said, returning to Monday’s duel. But they had done a great job of protecting the front of the net. We hadn’t generated much from the danger zone.
“It will be something that we will have to achieve. We haven’t scored enough, we will have to have a better presence in front of the net in the hope of generating more chances, in addition to hampering the work of the goalkeeper. »
Davidson believes the key will be the Thunderbirds’ start to the game.
“If we can impose ourselves a little earlier, a little faster… They had scored quickly and we had to run behind them,” he recalled.
“We will have to impose our style of play from the start. »