Northern Star: Simon Davidson

For this week's segment, we feature Duluth Denfeld's assists leader whose love for hockey runs deep through his family.

DULUTH, Minn. – Duluth Denfeld senior forward Simon Davidson might have the biggest personality on the team, but he always knows when to flip a switch.

“Obviously you want to win games and all of that and being a leader on this team, you don’t want to change who you are away from the ice and all of that. So the biggest thing for me is still getting these guys going, being that big personality on the bench but when it comes time to play, it’s business,” Davidson said.

“Simon is, he’s just kind of an enigma. I think our team kind of feeds off of Simon’s courage when he’s competing at his highest, that’s when our team really starts to roll. His linemates get going and it’s kind of infectious through our lineup. He’s the vocal one, he’s the loud one, he’s the one having fun in the locker room but it all boils down to his love for competing and playing the game,” head coach Dale Jago added.

Davidson was a bit of a late bloomer to start playing, but hockey was always around. His dad Lee played in the NHL, coached at both North Dakota and UMD, and was inducted into the North Dakota Athletics Hall of Fame.

“We were on the ice last year, passing with him and stuff. You could just see glimpses of his past and it’s really cool to see that. He was just such a talented and skilled player,” Davidson said of his dad.

Instead of feeling pressure of living up to his dad, Davidson has used having him around to his advantage.

“He helps me along, telling me here’s what you did in this game and he’s very honest, he’ll tell me you had a bad game today, you had a great game today and I think that’s the dynamic that we have. He’s probably one of my best friends so it’s great having him around,” Davidson said.

Which has helped Davidson develop his game more, including being more of a passer this year as he currently leads the Hunters in assists.

“It’s a big trust thing, I’d trust those guys with my life. If I’m going to trust them with my life I’m going to trust them with the puck and they just keep putting it in so it’s easy,” Davidson said.

“Simon reads the game really well but whoever’s he playing with too, if it’s the McClure boys, that’s really high skill level, high-intelligence offensive hockey. If he’s distributing the puck, causing turnovers and finding guys, that’s probably where he’s at his best,” Jago added.

Davidson also has hopes of following in his father’s footsteps in playing college hockey, all while creating his own legacy.

“Just yesterday they were 10th graders and now they’re four months away from graduating. It’s kind of sad that we only get a few years with them but it’s fun, they’ve helped put Denfeld back on the map,” Jago said.

“I used to tell my parents that I wanted to play college hockey and they would be like yeah……now he’s really helped me in being like if you want to do it, you can. Just keep playing and those opportunities will keep coming and that’s his biggest thing. Don’t focus on what happened, just keep playing and it will keep coming,” Davidson added.