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Sam Hallam looks forward to coaching Davidsson for Vaxjo

Die by the Blade reached out to Sam Hallam, coach of Växjö Lakers and Marcus Davidsson’s new coach. While Davidsson is on a deserved vacation and won’t show up for pre-season training until next week, Hallam, is looking forward to get to know and work with the young Swedish center.

Davidsson will be a part of the new team that Växjö is building up to challenge once more for the LeMat trophy. “He is a good two way center, a player that has taken good strides under the care of Coach Ohlsson in Djurgården”, says Hallam. “We are looking to build on that, we know he is used to hard training and hopefully we can add to that and make him take the next step in his career with an aim towards the NHL”.

Davidsson had 27 (10+17) points in 52 games with Djurgården over the regular season, and six (3+3) points in 19 playoff games. Although his stregnth is in the defensive game, he needs to take a step or two more before he would be able to challenge for a spot on an NHL roster.

“He will be surrounded with good players and we will play him in all situations, he will get the chance to shine”, Hallam continues. “I am disappointed with our season, the reigning champions Lakers was knocked out in the quarterfinals, Marcus will be even more more disappointed having lost the final and we can all use that drive for revanche to build upon and hopefully make something happening together”.

Sometimes players get told by NHL clubs where to go for development, this didn’t happen in the case with Davidsson, or as Hallam puts it “We weren’t approached by Buffalo in any way, I hope we will be later on though, we all have the interest to get Marcus as far in his career as possible”.

Växjö Lakers should be a club with good standing in the NHL clubs eyes, as should Hallam, having won the championship twice in three years, 2015 and 2018.

Last season Hallam helped develop Elias Pettersson “Not that he needed any teaching, I remember when I asked him to play the his off wing once, and he went out and did everything perfectly, even stuff I hadn’t told him about”, the coach said with a laugh.

“Coach Ohlsson in Djurgården has done a great job with his team, and Davidsson has benefitted from that. I am just the next guy trying to improve Marcus game and he was brought here because I like him as a player”.

Most likely Davidsson will play in the second line, and it will not only be him that is looking for improvement, Hallam is keen to put the lessons learned from a failed campaign to good use and challenge for the title once more.