Robert W. Davison (born May 1, 1980) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice ...

coach and former player. A

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference t ...

, Davison played for the

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertain ...

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conferenc ...

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce ...

, and

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The club was founded as the Kan ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

(NHL). He is currently serving as assistant coach of the

Toronto Marlies The Toronto Marlies are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a member of the North Division of the Eastern Conference. The Marlies is owned by Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment, a c ...

, the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the lea ...

affiliate of the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

Playing career

Davison began his

junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959 * ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009 * ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010 * ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019 Films * ''Junior'' (1994 ...

career in the

Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League The Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) is a Junior A ice hockey league in Ontario, Canada. It is under the supervision of the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) and the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). The league was listed as the 7th best ...

, for the St. Michael's Buzzers in 1996-97. The following year, he joined the

North Bay Centennials The North Bay Centennials were a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League, who played from 1982–2002. The team was based in North Bay, Ontario. History The North Bay Centennials or "Cents" as they were popularly known, were named afte ...

of the major junior

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overa ...

. After posting 11 points in 59 games, he was drafted by the

in the fourth round, 98th overall, in the

1998 NHL Entry Draft The 1998 NHL Entry Draft was the 36th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 27 at the Marine Midland Arena in Buffalo, New York. A total of 258 players were drafted. The last active players in the NHL from this draft class were Brian Gionta, M ...

. Davison returned to North Bay for another two seasons before making his professional debut with the Sharks' minor league affiliate, the

Kentucky Thoroughblades The Kentucky Thoroughblades were a minor professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, who existed from 1996 to 2001. The Thoroughblades were based in Lexington, Kentucky, playing home games at Rupp Arena. The Thoroughblades were an ...

of the

in 2000–01. The following season, the Thoroughblades relocated from Kentucky and became the

Cleveland Barons The name Cleveland Barons has been used by three professional hockey teams and one junior team. *Cleveland Barons (NHL), the National Hockey League team that played between 1976 and 1978 *Cleveland Barons (1937–1973), the original American Hockey ...

. Davison scored his first professional goal that season, in 2001–02. In 2002–03, following the trade of defenceman Bryan Marchment, Davison was called up from Cleveland and made his NHL debut with the Sharks. In his third game, he scored his first NHL goal against

Martin Gerber Martin Gerber (born 3 September 1974) is a Swiss former professional ice hockey goaltender. He was drafted in the eighth round of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft (232nd overall) by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. He played in the National Hockey League (N ...

in a 3-2 overtime loss to the

Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Mighty may refer to: * ''Mighty'' (The Planet Smashers album) * ''Mighty'' (Kristene DiMarco album) * ''The Mighty'' (1929 film), a 1929 American action film *'' The Mighty'', a 1998 comedy-drama film * ''The Mighty'' (comics), a DC Comics title * ...

. Davison finished the season with 3 points in 15 games with San Jose. During the

2004–05 NHL lockout The 2004–05 NHL lockout was a labor lockout that resulted in the cancellation of the National Hockey League (NHL) season, which would have been its 88th season of play. The main dispute was the league's desire to implement a salary cap to ...

, Davison played in the UK's

Elite Ice Hockey League The Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL), sometimes referred to as the British Elite League or, for sponsorship reasons, the Viaplay Elite League, is an ice hockey league in the United Kingdom. Formed in 2003 following the demise of the Ice Hocke ...

with the

Cardiff Devils The Cardiff Devils are a Welsh ice hockey team who play in the British Elite Ice Hockey League. The team play at Ice Arena Wales in Cardiff Bay. Cardiff are the reigning EIHL play-off champions, winning their third title in a row after beati ...

. He recorded 7 goals (second among team defencemen) and 15 points in 50 games as the Devils finished the season as

Challenge Cup The Challenge Cup is a knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, with the exception of 1915–1919 and 1939–1940, due to World War I and World War II respectively. It involve ...

runners-up. When NHL play resumed the following season, in 2005–06, Davison scored a career-high 6 points in 69 games. He remained with the Sharks until February 26, 2008, when he was traded to the

in exchange for a seventh round draft pick (

Jason Demers Jason Demers (born June 9, 1988) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who is currently playing for the Bakersfield Condors in the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract with the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey Leag ...

) in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

. On March 18, 2008, in a game against the

, Davison scored one of the longest goals in NHL history when a

shorthanded Short-handed is a term used in ice hockey and several related sports, including water polo, and refers to having fewer skaters (players) on the ice during play, as a result of a penalty. The player removed from play serves the penalty in the pe ...

clearing attempt from around his own goal line took several bounces along the ice before skipping over the glove of goalie and former Sharks teammate Vesa Toskala and into the net for the Islanders' lone tally in a 3–1 loss. The 197-foot shot was only Davison's third goal in 187 career games. After one season with the Islanders, he was signed by the

to a one-year, $560,000 deal on July 10, 2008, as an

unrestricted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is ...

. Davison was acquired by his former agent

Mike Gillis Michael David Gillis (born December 1, 1958) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former president and general manager of the Vancouver Canucks. He was born in Sudbury, Ontario. Playing career Gillis spent his junior hockey ca ...

, the newly appointed general manager of the Canucks. On July 31, 2009, Davison was signed by the

. Davison played one game for the Devils in the current season, spending most of his time with the AHL's

Lowell Devils The Lowell Devils were a minor ice hockey team in the American Hockey League playing in Lowell, Massachusetts, at the Tsongas Center. As their name implied, they were the top minor league affiliate of the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey ...

. After two seasons abroad in Europe with

HC Oceláři Třinec HC Oceláři Třinec (''Třinec Steelers'') is a Czech ice hockey team from Třinec who play in the Czech Extraliga, the top tier of Czech ice hockey. Their home arena is the Werk Arena. The team's main sponsors are the local Třinec Iron and Stee ...

and

EC Red Bull Salzburg EC Red Bull Salzburg is a professional ice hockey team based in Salzburg, Austria, that currently plays in the ICE Hockey League. The club play their home games at the Eisarena Salzburg. History The history of ice hockey in Salzburg at the high ...

, Davison returned to the

, his original draft team, on a one-year, two-way contract on July 7, 2013. Davison served as the Captain of the Sharks' AHL affiliate

Worcester Sharks The Worcester Sharks were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that played from 2006 to 2015. Affiliated with the National Hockey League's San Jose Sharks and located in Worcester, Massachusetts, the Sharks played t ...

, and on December 31, 2013 against the

Adirondack Phantoms The Adirondack Phantoms were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL), who began play in the 2009–10 AHL season. The Phantoms were based in Glens Falls, New York, playing home games at the Glens Falls Civic Center an ...

, he played his 700th career professional game; 345 were in the AHL, 219 were in the NHL, and 136 were in Europe.

Coaching career

On July 26, 2014, Davison retired to become an assistant coach with

. After a two-year stint, and two championships in Salzburg, he left the team at the conclusion of the 2015–16 season and joined the coaching staff of HC Dinamo Minsk of the

Kontinental Hockey League The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; russian: Континентальная хоккейная лига (КХЛ), Kontinental'naya khokkeynaya liga) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs ba ...

(KHL) as an assistant. On July 17, 2017, Davison was appointed assistant coach of the

, winning the

Calder Cup The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League. It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars. The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian mahogany. In its curr ...

in the 2017–18 season.

Career statistics

Awards and achievements

Defensive Player of the Year -

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

*North Bay Centennials Scholastic Player of the Year - 2000 *European Trophy Champion 2011 (Captain) *Austrian Champion 2015 *

EBEL Ebel is a Swiss luxury watch company that was founded in 1911 at La Chaux-de-Fonds in the canton of Neuchâtel, Switzerland. History Ebel was established in 1911 by Eugène Blum and his wife, Alice (née Lévy). The brand name originates from th ...

Champion 2015 *Austrian Champion 2016 *

Champion 2016 *

Champion 2018

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Davison, Rob 1980 births Albany Devils players Canadian ice hockey defencemen Cardiff Devils players Cleveland Barons (2001–2006) players EC Red Bull Salzburg players HC Oceláři Třinec players Sportspeople from St. Catharines Kentucky Thoroughblades players Living people New Jersey Devils players New York Islanders players North Bay Centennials players San Jose Sharks draft picks San Jose Sharks players Vancouver Canucks players Worcester Sharks players Ice hockey people from Ontario Canadian expatriate sportspeople in Belarus Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in England Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Wales Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the Czech Republic Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Austria