There are 88 days to go, so let’s continue the countdown with Brandon Davidson — one of the few Oilers to don jersey number 88.

When you talk about facing adversity, few in the hockey world have done so to the extent that Brandon Davidson had to do.

Playing any NHL games is a tall task for any sixth-round pick like the Edmonton Oilers made Davidson in the 2010 draft, but doubly so when your hockey career is put on pause due to a cancer diagnosis.

Davidson had just finished up a solid WHL career with the Regina Pats and turned pro ahead of the 2012-13. He played 11 games with the ECHL’s Stockton Thunder scoring seven goals and 12 points quickly showing he belonged with the American League club.

He went to Oklahoma City to join the Barons, and kept up his strong play. Through 26 games, he scored two goals and five points. But in November of that year, a tumour was discovered during a routine medical check. It was testicular cancer. His season ended and Davidson underwent surgery to remove the growth, and chemotherapy began.

Davidson made his return to hockey in the 2013-14 season with the Barons, and played the full season scoring five goals and 13 points in 68 games. While the following year would see him play the majority of his time in the American League again — 55 games, to be exact — Davidson also made his NHL debut on December 10th, 2014.

“The cancer was a scary time, but I’ve put that behind me,” Davidson told the Edmonton Journal.

That year had started off on a tough foot, however, as a sports hernia would knock him down the rung in the organization with other young defenceman Jordan Oesterle, Dillon Simpson and Brad Hunt all knocking on the door of the NHL.

And in 2015-16, Davidson earned his spot on the NHL roster right out of training camp. He would play the full season and into next year with the Oilers, too, but as the NHL’s trade deadline approached, Edmonton needed some help up the middle of the ice. Davidson would be traded on Feb. 28, 2017 to the Montreal Canadiens for David Desharnais.

The latter would make the most of his short time in Edmonton scoring the game-winning goal in game five of the Oilers’ first-round series against the San Jose Sharks.

Davidson, meanwhile, would finish the year in Montreal and start the next there, too, but found his way back to Edmonton when the Oilers selected him off waivers in Dec. 2017. He’d play in just 23 games in his second stint, however, as the Oilers once again traded him away. This time, it was to the New York Islanders for a third-round pick in 2019.

In the years to come Davidson bounced around a few organizations playing games for the Chicago Blackhawks, Calgary Flames, San Jose Sharks and the Buffalo Sabres. He would play more in the AHL than the NHL, however, and this past season found his way to Sweden, where he drew in for seven games with the SHL’s Farjestad BK.

Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@oilersnation.com.