Kraken head coach Dan Bylsma is apt to smile at times during media scrums, especially after wins, of course, but it is a staple of his stand-ups after practices and morning skates at Kraken Community Iceplex. His lips curled upward late last week when asked, “Ryker Evans, how you seen him grow as a pro, his game and maybe kind of his personality?”
Bylsma, who has coached Evans each season of the young defenseman’s pro career, went straight to persona on his answer: “He’s got a deadpan personality. We’ve pushed him for quite a long time now, going back to [AHL] Charlotte when he came at the end of the year. At the beginning of the season two years ago [2023 training camp], there was a pretty direct message [from Bylsma and the entire Seattle hockey operations group] about what he needed to improve and get to his [NHL] game. And it was met with? [pause] ... deadpan.”
While appearing impassive, make no error in judgment about Evans’ growth as a pro that has impressed Seattle brass, his teammates and opponents across the league. Big credit goes to the Kraken amateur scouts who watched Evans play live for many games before the 2021 inaugural Kraken NHL Draft. He stood out for myriad reasons, including his ability to keep offensive pace with phenom Western Hockey League Regina (SK) teammate Connor Bedard.
Tune In to KHN Tuesday for Inside Look at Evans’ Literal Growth
No matter that at 13 years old, Evans weighed in a 110 pounds and stood 5-foot-3 when drafted in the final round of the annual bantam draft that stocks juniors teams in the Canadian Hockey League. He’s playing these days at 6-foot and 195 pounds, with the latter likely to increase given he just turned 23 on New Year’s Eve. Kraken Hockey Network personality Piper Shaw will have the answer to how a diagnosis of celiac disease helped Evans gain his current physical stature and lots more insights during a pre-game featured conversation on the 6:30 p.m. pre-game show.
One other major draft-this-guy factor, frequently mentioned by scouts in the draft room up on top of the Space Needle that summer, was Evans’ competitive fire or “jam in his game.” He may look expressionless on the ice, even after quickly taking a pass from veteran center Chandler Stephenson Saturday night, then quickly wiring a shot on goal that teammate Eeli Tolvanen deflected past Vancouver for the game-winning goal in a 6-3 home win before an amped Climate Pledge Arena crowd.
“That's kind of his demeanor,” said Bylsma. “But when you see him play, skating aggressively and defending with a bit of a bite, skating up ice and moving the puck, that's his game – and what we've seen it grow over the last few years.”
Evans on Evans
For his part, Evans said he feels his growth has been trending up this season after spending the first half of 2023-24 playing for Coachella Valley and earning American Hockey League All-Star honors before being called to appear in 36 contests. He’s played 54 games to date this season, missing several due to an undisclosed injury.
“Last year was a little different,” said Evans at his locker Monday after practice, at which he is routinely one of the last players off the ice. “I was up and down. This year, being able to just kind of prove myself up to this point so far, trying to be as consistent as possible. That's what I've wanted to do, and I've done a good job. I just need to keep it up.”
Bylsma and assistant coach Bob Woods have been direct with messaging this season too as Evans has worked with partners and ex-Kraken Will Borgen, at times Brandon Montour (whom he considers a mentor), and recently Josh Mahura. He’s notched five goals and 17 assists for 22 points in those 54 games while averaging 20 minutes of time-on-ice per game in his first full NHL season. He has a goal percentage of 10.4 percent on 48 total shots on target.
“Keep playing my way,” said Evans about what his coaches are advising. “Play hard, move my feet [he and Montour really fly together], shoot the puck, just be detailed in those areas. That’s the key part of my game, and it goes along with the consistency part.
‘Don’t Ever Want to Feel Tired’
A couple of summers ago, Evans, then 20 years old, shared a singular and startlingly mature training goal with his long-time trainer Glenn Vergie back home in Calgary: “I don’t ever want to feel tired in a game.”
That audacious intent paid off in Evans’ first pro season with American Hockey League affiliate Coachella Valley. The 2021 second-round draft choice scored six goals and notched 38 assists in 71 regular-season games, then turned it up a few anaerobic notches to be a star contributor in a 26-game playoff run. Evans averaged a point per game with five goals and 21 assists, helping the Firebirds to win a Western Conference title in the franchise’s inaugural season. Evans is quick to credit the entire training staff for keeping him at peak conditioning over the season’s grind.
Evans is logging those 20 minutes per game as a bona fide NHL defender with an offensive upside that Kraken fans can expect to stack higher and higher in the years ahead.
“He belongs in this league,” said Kraken analyst and former NHLer JT Brown on an early-season road trip. “His defensive instincts are already there and will only get better. He can jump up [into the offensive mix] at the right times. He can beat players with his legs, but can also make the right passes.”
