Sign up for the paNOW newsletter

Mintos win Jake Davidson sweepstakes

Apr 1, 2015 | 7:22 AM

A year after winning the 2014 Telus Cup, the Prince Albert Mintos were swept  in the first round of the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League playoffs for the first time since 2008-2009. That came after they ranked sixth in the regular season, their lowest seed since the 2007-2008 season.

A big reason for this year’s slide was the Mintos’ goaltending, as they finished eighth out of the 12 SMAAAHL teams in save percentage with .895 heading into the playoffs.

But the Mintos are poised to change that quickly. They’ve already locked up goaltending prospect Jake Davidson from the Sask Valley Vipers Bantam AA club and committed him for next season, along with two other reserve players in defenceman Layne Matechuk (Humboldt Bantam Broncos) and Reagan Poncelet (Humboldt Midget AA Broncos).

The Mintos have had their eyes on Davidson for a while and are already excited for his future. Shortly after the team’s spring camp on the weekend, Mintos manager Don Fauchoux said Davidson could jump in and battle for the starting goaltending spot with Derrick Hucul, who came on strong late in the season.

But the Mintos weren’t the only ones in the Davidson sweepstakes, as many of the Midget AAA teams were trying to lure the Osler product to their respective squads.

“There were quite a few teams interested in him, but the Mintos were definitely far and above,” said Brad Davidson, Jake’s father. “They contacted us lots, they brought him into camps and got him to practice with the older guys. He played in that one exhibition game.

“We’ve both felt, with all the other teams that have been interested … the Mintos showed the most interest and we’re excited to get him to P.A. to play, for sure.”

Their interest is clear.

Western Elite Hockey Prospects has watched Davidson closely, and projects him to go in the third round of the 2015 WHL Bantam Draft.

Like Midget AAA teams vying for his services, Jake has garnered interest from WHL teams. He said he’s answered draft questionnaires from “eight or nine” WHL teams.

Jake admitted that it was “nerve-racking” to start the season, knowing that the WHL talent scouts in the crowd were looking at him, but was able to settle those nerves after only a few games. Jake uses the word “calm” to describe not only his manner while he’s in the net, but as his goaltending style as well.

“I try to stay as calm as possible, [I have] more of a positional game than sliding all over the place—you can expect a Carey Price/Henrik Lunqvist mix,” added Jake. “Definitely, I do have a reactive part of the game that I can spring out when I have to, but I try to keep it as calm as possible.”

Davidson was 10-4-2 in the regular season with a 2.22 goals against average with the Vipers, who finished as the first place in the Saskatchewan Bantam AA Hockey League North Division. He also carried the Vipers to the finals, playing nine of their 10 postseason games. He was 5-2 until he ran into the Yorkton Terriers in the final, a team that had lost just two games all season. The Terries won the SBAAHL championship title with a two-game sweep over the Vipers.

“We had a really good season, finished top in the North and that really helped us in playoffs,” said Jake. “We had a good run in playoffs, a couple games we could have won but once we got Yorkton, they’re just really strong and hard to beat for sure.”

jdandrea@panow.com

On Twitter: @jeff_dandrea