Experienced centre Davies leads Wayne Pivac’s side in Cardiff with five uncapped players poised to make their debuts.
Wing Tom Rogers and lock Ben Carter both start the game while their fellow new faces Gareth Thomas, Taine Basham and Ben Thomas are ready to appear off the bench.
Scarlets ace Davies said: “With players away with the British & Irish Lions it creates opportunity.
“It makes boys step up as well and get responsibility and understanding of what is needed of them moving forward in their careers.
“It’s a great opportunity on Saturday. It’s exciting, we’ve got fans in the stadium, and we could potentially have four or five new caps so that’s great for us moving forward.
“We want to be developing a squad and bringing in more competition.
“One thing over the years we probably haven’t had is the strength in depth and with these opportunities now it is creating competition which then drives standards in training, creates stronger teams, and better standards. That is what is going to bring on Welsh rugby.
“It’s been good. There is a lot more responsibility for me. There are a lot of new faces, but also boys with experience to help me out as well. I have enjoyed it fully as captain.
“It is an opportunity for these young guys. They have played well for their regions and now it is an opportunity to showcase why they have been selected and why they are good enough to play Test rugby.
“For us as a group, it is keeping on building on the foundations we built during the autumn and through the Six Nations.”
Davies is especially looking forward to seeing his Scarlets team-mate Rogers in action on the wing.
Full-back Leigh Halfpenny will win his 100th Test cap in total against Canada.
A maximum crowd of 8,200 will be inside Principality Stadium for the game.
“There is always a physicality with Canada. They will be looking to compete at the breakdown and push us as hard as we can,” said Davies.
“It’s making sure we execute all our systems with and without the ball.
“Tom is a huge talent. One of the things I have been impressed with is it’s his first year in senior rugby and he has been in and around Leigh and Liam Williams at the club and picking their brains.
“You have seen his game grow and his work ethic has been great. He gets it. He gets what is needed of him to be at the highest level and he has got two great mentors in Leigh and Liam.
“He has taken advantage of that and that’s what you need to do.”
