FARGO - To junior hockey fans, Jesse Davis might look like an average guy wearing a Fargo Force hat.
Among junior hockey experts, however, he's more than that.
He's the Force's chief scout and the guy responsible for making sure this year's team has the talent it needs to be competitive.
And with the Force opening its fourth season Saturday, it will be the first chance to look at the job Davis has done this offseason.
"Scouting is something that's fun for me," said Davis, who is in his second year with the team. "You're on the road a lot which can be a grind, but it is fun too because you get back to places you used to live and you get a chance to see old faces and make new friends."
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Seeing an old face is actually how Davis got hired by the Force. Former Force head coach Jason Herter knew Davis from when they were both scouts.
So when Herter, who left this summer to become an assistant at Minnesota-Duluth, got the job, he hired Davis.
"He said to me that whenever he was at the rink, that he always saw me there and told me if he got the job, he'd hire me because of that," Davis said.
The Force had Davis spend 192 nights on the road while scouting in the United States in Canada last season.
But he also acts as a team liaison to any player interested in playing for the Force.
"I met him two years ago, and ever since then he's been calling me," said forward Alex Iafallo, who is heading into his first season with the team. "He's just a great guy and a great scout."
Iafallo, a Buffalo, N.Y., native, said Davis has been personable since the first time they've met. That didn't change when Davis was hired by the Force.
Iafallo said that Davis was up front with him about everything that comes with playing for the Force.
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"He sat down with me and my family and told us everything," said Iafallo, whose dad owns a sports bar just blocks away from Ralph Wilson Stadium, home of the NFL's Buffalo Bills. "Jesse told us everything from what the high school requirements would be like to what it'd be like to play in the league."
No one really got a chance to see Davis' work until the end of the season when the United States Hockey League held its entry and futures drafts.
It was at those two drafts where Davis' opinion was used to build this year's team. In all, 13 players on the team's 23-man roster were players scouted and recruited by Davis.
That group includes Iafallo, defenseman Jimmy McNulty - who recently committed to Army - and forward Gabe Guertler, who committed to Minnesota.
It remains to be seen how this season will go for Davis, a Detroit native.
But things could go well. After all, if the Lions are 3-0 and the Tigers won the AL Central, maybe it is a sign that some of that luck could make its way to Fargo.
"I enjoy being out there," Davis said. "And sometimes I enjoy being away from Fargo for a little while when I can too."
Readers can reach Forum reporter Ryan S. Clark at (701) 241-5548.
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Clark's Force blog can be found at slightlychilled.areavoices.com
