Monday afternoon, while Head Coach Jim Madigan and Captain Ryan Shea were at the Beanpot Media Day event ahead of the annual tournament, the Huskies received a verbal commitment from James Davenport, a right-shot defenseman from Natick, Massachusetts. A 2000 birth year, Davenport will be 20 years old when he matriculates to Northeastern next season.
St. Sebastian’s alum James Davenport has committed to Northeastern. ‘00 RD has 7-14–21 in 44 GP this year with BCHL’s Victoria Grizzlies. Former Brown commit is a mobile, puck-moving D. Good pickup for the Huskies.
— Jeff Cox (@jeffcox425) January 27, 2020
Davenport is currently playing with the Victoria Grizzlies of the British Columbia Hockey League, the same team that developed current freshmen Riley Hughes and Jeremie Buchler, and the current team of future Huskies forward Chase McInnis. In 44 games with Victoria, Davenport has 7 goals and 14 assists. Prior to his commitment to the Huskies, he had committed to Brown University in March 2017. He also continued a trend of former Brown commits who will suit up for Northeastern that includes Kevin and Derick Roy, Zach Aston-Reese, and Biagio Lerario.
Congrats to James Davenport of @BCHLGrizzlies, from Bryce Anderson and Henri Schreifels, on his 1st @GoBCHL goal! #BCHL #WeAreGrizzlies pic.twitter.com/3Tg8v2ouJF
— Roy Anthonisen (@BCHLGrizzVideo) September 30, 2019
He is a product of St. Sebastian’s Prep, continuing a long line of former Arrows who have played at Northeastern, including current freshman Jayden Struble. In his final season at St. Seb’s, Davenport put up 24 points (7 goals) in 29 games. He also made the USA Hockey Selects 17 camp back in May 2017
Standing just under 6 feet tall and weighing in at 180 pounds, Davenport is heralded as a “mobile, puck-moving defenseman who skates well and can be effective on the breakout as well as manning the point on the powerplay,” as quoted by the New England Hockey Journal. This endorsement is right in line with the classic mold of a Madigan/Jerry Keefe defenseman, and will slot into the defensive corps nicely next year when the current defensemen in those roles leave Huntington Avenue (namely Ryan Shea and possibly Jordan Harris).
Other compliments on Davenport’s play include “good skater who sees the ice well offensively from the back end,” “high hockey IQ, high upside,” and “good vision.” Before the 2019-20 season, Victoria head coach and general manager Craig Didmon also lauded his physical presence on the back end fitting into the Grizzlies’ style of play.
Congratulations to James on his commitment to the Huskies! We will look forward to watching how Victoria finishes their season ahead of his enrollment to NU next fall!
Feature photo for this article was taken by Dave Arnold of the New England Hockey Journal