There will be some new faces on the bench this season for the Salmon Arm Silverbacks, with Kevin Davis stepping in as one of the assistant coaches, while Kevin Heise will be the team’s trainer and equipment manager.
Davis has been in the hockey world for around 20 years, starting at just seven years of age, he grew up in Kamloops playing minor hockey. From there he has travelled throughout the United States to play hockey in Washington, Colorado and Utah. He then went overseas to play pro-hockey in Norway.
Coaching is new to Davis, and he said he is excited to build strong relationships and grow with the team through their ups and downs.
“It kind of reminds me of life in a way, like it’s not all good things. There’s always some tough adversity, and how you deal with that,” he said.
“Now being on the coaching side of it now it’s just really being a leader and role model for those guys.”
Davis added that he is continuing to learn is the video analysis aspect of his job, where games are recorded and he must go through it with the team.
He is incredibly excited to start the season, and has already met some of the team during camps.
Meanwhile, Heise is well established in the hockey scene. He started playing hockey in Edmonton when he was seven.
After years of experience, he developed an interest in sports medicine and kinesiology.
Heise decided to take a break from it all in 2012, where he opened a skate sharpening shop.
In the summer of 2024, he decided to get back into the world of competitive hockey through an equipment and athletic trainer lens.
“I went down to one of my old teams in Tri-City … it really got me sort of woken up again and I forgot how good it was.”
He said he had forgotten how great the environment was to be on the road and feel the electric energy from fans in the arena. He said there is nothing like it.
Heise added that he is eager to start working with the players and when asked about challenges he may anticipate during his journey with the Silverbacks, he responded saying he doesn’t see any coming his way.
“The last five years of my life got a little challenging for me, but I was able to get to a place to overcome some difficult time, some mental health issues,” he said. ” I was able to get to the other side so there is never going to be a bad day. There is nothing stressful about this.”
Davis and Heise are both very excited to join the Silverbacks in their 2025/2026 season.
