In the third instalment of SPITFIRE SPOTLIGHT, John Humphrey, OHL Editor for In Play! Magazine, speaks with Spits’ rookie left-winger Cole Davis

17-year-old left winger Cole Davis is in his first full season with the Windsor Spitfires and has been one of the club’s best and impact players for all of the 2023-24 OHL campaign. The 5’10”, 175-lb. native of Sutton, Ontario was the Spits’ fourth round selection, 65th overall, in the 2022 OHL Priority Selection. He spent his first season in junior hockey with the LaSalle Vipers of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League in 2022-2023 although he did see action in five regular season games with the Spits before joining the team for their short four-game playoff appearance in the spring of 2023. In 31 games he has notched 10 goals and 10 assists heading into the second-half of his rookie season with the Spitfires.

In Play! Magazine!: Talk about your experience at your first training camp with the Spitfires last season after being drafted by the team during the summer.

Cole Davis: I went to the Spitfires’ training camp with the hopes of making Windsor but was very glad that I ended up being sent down to LaSalle. I think I got a lot of opportunities with the Vipers last season that not a lot of 16-year-olds get.

They put put me in a lot of game situations because I received a lot of ice time … I got to play on the powerplay and on the penalty-kill too. Playing in LaSalle helped me a lot because it is a big jump from minor hockey to junior hockey. I was lucky because the LaSalle Vipers have a great environment and a great organization.

In Play! Magazine: How bittersweet has the 2023-2024 OHL season been for you so far? While you re having a great season personally, the team has been struggling.”

Cole Davis: Obviously we did not have the start to the season that we wanted and while I have been having some personal success so far, hockey is a team sport and I prefer team success over my personal success.

As for my personal success so far this season, I have to thank my teammates and coaches for that too.

In Play! Magazine: For someone who has never seen you play, describe your style of play

Cole Davis: I think that I am a two-way player. I like to take care of my defensive zone, because that is where the offence starts. I think that I am defensively responsible, but I also think that I am an offensive threat. I like to use my speed to manoeuvre through the neutral zone into the offensive zone. I’m obviously not the biggest player (5’10”, 175 lbs), but I like to play a physical game and throw my body around. I’m not intimidated by anyone out on the ice.

In Play! Magazine: Speaking of not being intimidated out there, talk about how you almost had your first fight in the OHL in the game against the Oshawa Generals at the WFCU Centre on December. 9

What happened?

Editor’s note: Davis dropped the gloves with 6’4”, 210-LB. Generals rookie defenceman David Bedkowski but officials got between the two before any punches were exchanged)

Cole Davis: (laughs) We played AAA hockey against each other in the same league before and we’ve had a history of going at each other out there and in that game he gave me a good shove so I gave him a good shove back.

He had been in my ear and chirping me all game and then something inside of me snapped after the shoving. I dropped my gloves but he didn’t want to go.

Editor’s note: While Cole received a two-minute penalty for Roughing on the play, Bedkowski picked up two minutes for Cross-checking

In Play! Magazine: When is the last time that you’ve had a fight during a game?

Cole Davis: I’ve never had a fight. I don’t think I would be much of a fighter. (laughs)

In Play! Magazine: Where do you go to school?

Cole Davis: I’m in Grade 12 at Ste. Anne’s in Tecumseh and six other Spitfire players go there too. I think it is great that we get to spend a lot of time together away from the rink.

Check out some great game action photos of #86 Cole Davis from Tim Jarrold – In Play! magazine