Patrik Bexell: This is what you’ve been waiting for, Brandon the whole year, right?
Brandon Davidson: Yeah, for sure. I mean, I have definitely been waiting for this moment, you know, for 12 years as a professional. To be in this championship game, to finally be here is … all the hard work kind of comes together.
You look back on the season as a whole, the rocky road, to say the least, I want to say we’re not surprised, but it definitely is a little bit considering how the season did go. Before the season, on paper, we put a team together that looked like it was a final team, and the way the season went it definitely didn’t show that.
I think when you look at a lot of professional teams; NHL teams that win Stanley Cups and win championships, they come together right at the end of the season, and it’s all about timing. We were able to do that, just before the end. We’ve been on an incredible run here so far, and now we have the confidence and the belief that we can go all the way. The nerves are gone as well
I guess in regards to the fact you don’t have to look downward into the relegation battle. You can play without the nerves and you can play without anything and just go for it.
It’s funny to think about the nerves about being relegated, and then now, to be so far from from that point, it’s just ironic. You never think to be in those two drastically different positions in one season. it’s still the underdog story here. It’s something that we’ve really relished in and has given us strength.
A change was made in the last 20 games of the season structure-wise. For the first game of the season when I was here and we spoke at that time you were paired with Adam Engström. There’s been in a roundabout sort of way a coming back together. What makes Adam such a good player now in the playoffs, where you two have excelled as a defensive pairing?
I think when I look at Adam, he is a totally different player than I am, and sometimes opposites attract. He’s such a skilled skater, skilled with the puck. He’s young, he’s got a lot of legs in him and and he’s able to contribute offensively a lot of times, whereas I’m more of a calming, shutdown defenceman. I definitely bring him a little more physicality to that aspect of things. It balances out well for us.
I think that having the reliability back there for Adam maybe gives him more confidence. I love the communication that we’ve been able to have. It really allows me to play that simple game and allows him to kind of take care of the rest. He’s a tremendous player, and I think that he’s going to be in the NHL for a long time.
You mentioned you being more defensively responsible, but you also see Adam having taken a bit more defensive responsibility, maybe in regards to the other pairings as well, because you’ve been tossed out against the the top lines.
Yeah, I think, you have to play on both sides of the puck, and maybe that was something that he really worked on this season. You can definitely see that in his game. Now that he does take care of the defensive zone first but he still has that offensive attack ability like you see in the last game, with that goal to [Adam] Tambellini. He’s rounding out his game. He’s still a young player. I like to think that I’ve been able to help him get there, but he’s got all the tools that he needs and he’s really running with it right now.
We’ve seen you rubbing off on him, you know, gloves in the face and all that after the whistle.
Yeah. I mean, any way we can fight, you know. I think Adam just plays a hard game and so do I. I like to think I lead by example, but he’s rounding out that game just perfectly, and it’s really a gift for me to play with him.
You said you’ve been waiting to play in a championship final for 12 years as a professional. Does it matter that it’s in another country or in another league?
No. I thought about that the last week here, and it doesn’t matter to me. I’ve wanted this for so long and it’s a tough thing to get a chance at. I know it’s a different league, in my first real season over here, but nonetheless this is one of the hardest things to win in hockey. If I can get that championship, I’m willing to do whatever I can. I’ll be a happy man.
