EDMONTON -- He's an international soccer star who patrols the pitch for one of the world's top teams, but for Alphonso Davies, Edmonton will always be home.
"I'm happy to be back," he told reporters Friday. "My family, my friends, they're all here. I'm excited to be back."
Davies, 19, is back in Alberta during a short break from his team Bayern Munich and will drop the ceremonial first puck at tonight's Oilers matchup against the Calgary Flames.
"I know they play a big rivalry against the Flames," said Davies. "I'm happy to see how that turns out."
TEEN SUPERSTAR
The Ghana-born, but Edmonton-raised Davies has managed to carve out a niche for himself on a star-laden Bayern Munich side including the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Philippe Coutinho and Thomas Muller.
“You learn a lot from those guys," said Davies. "Some of those guys are World Cup winners. Some of those guys are Champions League winners."
"As a kid from Edmonton I was just trying to soak up as much information as possible.
Davies has emerged as a budding star in defence after building his reputation as an attacking winger with the Vancouver Whitecaps between 2016 and 2018.
After initially struggling for playing time with Bayern, he became a team regular after switching to defence.
“It’s different. I haven't been playing defence for a long time," he said. "My mindset growing up was attack, attack, attack, now it’s defend, defend, defend."
"I have to be aware of the guy behind me because one long ball behind me, it’s big trouble.”
Davies joined the German giants in January of last year after parts of three seasons and 81 senior team appearances for the Vancouver Whitecaps of Major League Soccer.
His $22 million US transfer from the Whitecaps to Bayern was a record amount for a MLS player at the time.
Bayern have had an up-and-down season that saw manager Niko Kovac leave the team in November after a string of disappointing results.
On the other hand, Bayern reeled off six straight wins in the Champions League and will face English side Chelsea in the second round next month.
The club sits third in the German Bundesliga standings, four points back of league leaders RB Leipzig.
STICKING WITH SOCCER
Davies says tonight will be his first NHL game in Edmonton having only gone to see the Oil Kings when he lived here in his early teens.
He said he tried the sport briefly while living in Alberta but quickly knew he should stick to soccer.
"I tried hockey for about a week. I didn't really enjoy it too much," he said. "It was too cold. [Soccer] was everything I wanted to do."
While not prolific with a stick on skates, Davies says professional athletes share a mutual respect.
"It’s not easy everyday going out and getting hit," he said. "Especially the goalies. With all that padding on and that small puck, trying to track it."
He'll take in tonight's game before returning to Germany and the resumption of Bayern's season on Jan. 19.
