Claimed off Waivers: Brandon Davidson Claimed by Edmonton

[THall4]

Now now lets not forget about Mark Letestu in that category.

Hes the son TM wishes he had...I mean he has 2 of them..but u get my drift.

 

[THall4]

That's interesting. I haven't watched Davidson since leaving Edmonton last season. Skating was never something that stood out for me as being an issue with him. I'll be watching to see if this assessment has any truth to it.

Esthetics man. Hes got a real awkward looking stride/push off from a stand still...but he gets to where he needs to just fine. And hes been great positionally.

Some players fit teams styles, others don't. Davidson clearly wasn't a fit with the Habs, but he fits like a glove here.

 

[ManofSteel55]

Now now lets not forget about Mark Letestu in that category.

I don't blame him for loving Letestu. He's versatile and can play anywhere you ask him to reasonably well. I'd like to see him away from the powerplay and on the penalty kill more often personally, especially given that last year's scoring rate hasn't transferred to this year (as expected, IMO). He's just the type of player that coaches love to have.

 

[PinSeeker]

Davy has been very good since coming back, really good to see

 

[dss97]

He's been great since coming back, perhaps he just wasn't a good fit in Montreal.

 

[Gabe84]

He's been great since coming back, perhaps he just wasn't a good fit in Montreal.

Nah, he just never was as terrible as indicated in this thread.

 

[jfhabs]

Nah, he just never was as terrible as indicated in this thread.

Did not read the whole thing but he is just not a guy you want in your line up on a regular basis imo. Handles the puck like a grenade and does too much mental mistakes (positioning, pinch, etc), also, he is not mean, physical or strong enough to compensate his flaws nor does he have offensive tools.

He can be ok in a limited role for a short time but if you have him as a 5-6 D, he<ll make you lose games from time to time.

 

[McFlyingV]

I think it depends on what you expect out of him when you watch him. If you're hoping to see an agile puck mover with an effortless stride then you're going to hate Davy right off the hop. He does have a unique, albeit awkward stride. He's not fast from a standstill, but he has good gap control and positioning that he rarely gets beat due to his skating. He's not a great puck mover, but a competent one who doesn't panic with the puck in the defensive zone. He's incredibly strong and proficient at breaking up the cycle, he just out muscles and out works guys and takes the puck from them. He's also pretty damn good at playing guys off the rush and either funnels them to the outside before using his physical game along the boards, or gets in their shooting lane.

Right now, I'd say he's a good bottom pairing defensive D. He does have a cannon of a slap shot, but he doesn't get to utilize it enough. Before injuring his knee in 2015-16 we saw his progression from a healthy scratch to a guy who was playing flawless defence for 20 minutes a night. After he mastered the defensive side of things his offensive game was slowly starting to progress and he was getting more confident jumping up into the play. He talked about it in the past, but he likes to work on one aspect of his game until he's happy with it and then start to work on others. He's just now building his defensive game back up to where it once was, and I would guess he'll eventually start trying to contribute more offensively.

With all that said, he obviously wasn't working out in Montreal. I'm happy he's back in Edmonton because he's a great guy with a great story overcoming cancer, and the guys seem to love him in the dressing room. He's also a rock defensively and thats something we needed on this d core in a 5-7 role.

 

[McFlyingV]

Did not read the whole thing but he is just not a guy you want in your line up on a regular basis imo. Handles the puck like a grenade and does too much mental mistakes (positioning, pinch, etc), also, he is not mean, physical or strong enough to compensate his flaws nor does he have offensive tools.

He can be ok in a limited role for a short time but if you have him as a 5-6 D, he<ll make you lose games from time to time.

Couldn't disagree more with this assessment. I only have viewings of his time in Edmonton, but he's always had good positioning, and has been calm moving the puck, albeit not a great puck mover by any means. His value to me still comes in his defensive ability and his strength in breaking up the cycle. Again, idk what he did in Montreal, but he has always been incredibly strong in puck battles in Edmonton to the point that he routinely man handles guys and breaks up the cycle all by himself.

 

[jfhabs]

Couldn't disagree more with this assessment. I only have viewings of his time in Edmonton, but he's always had good positioning, and has been calm moving the puck, albeit not a great puck mover by any means. His value to me still comes in his defensive ability and his strength in breaking up the cycle. Again, idk what he did in Montreal, but he has always been incredibly strong in puck battles in Edmonton to the point that he routinely man handles guys and breaks up the cycle all by himself.

Yes, I agree he looked strong but it seems like he had no brains and would just get out smarted when trying to play physical along the boards... Anyway I'm honestly happy he found his game back, but I won't really miss him either. Like I said, the flaws I see in him are important, bad IQ / decision and I don't think he can be a long term solution... if he is good for him/you, just giving my opinion on his time in Montreal!

 

[Leon Lucius Black]

I found Davidson played better when he got more minutes in Montreal, hard for a guy to get any confidence when he was in and out of the lineup the majority of the time here.

Glad to see him playing well in Edmonton.