Ryker Evans Should Be a Part of Kraken’s Future Defense

Despite a little bit of bouncing between the NHL and AHL since December, he has mostly stuck with the pro team since then. The more the season progressed, the more he was called into action. As with any transition to the professional level, it hasn’t always been easy. Not helping matters is the fact that, at least as per pre-season expectations, the Kraken have largely disappointed in 2023-24. This author attended the team’s December visit to the Montreal Canadiens – just before Evans was called up – and can attest to how sloppy the blue liners looked. 

But even knowing Evans was thrown into the fire that was a mediocre squad, he’s played relatively well all things considered. He even scored his first goal on March 28 in a 2-1 overtime defeat to the Arizona Coyotes. Through 31 games he has tallied eight total points courtesy of one goal and seven helpers.

Defensive Changes and Evans’ Future in Seattle

It wouldn’t do to only toot Evans’ horn and sing his praises. The reality is that he is minus-7, which is nothing to write home about, even for a rookie. Then again, most players on the roster are hampered by negative goal differentials, some much starker than Evans’ figure. 

There is also the matter that Evans has often been paired with Justin Schultz, who has not had a particularly memorable campaign. We even discussed the matter in a recent article about the contract and free agency situations the Kraken will have to reckon with this summer. That said, Hakstol switched things up a bit on Tuesday for the game versus the Coyotes. As mentioned earlier, Evans was paired with Larsson, another defensive veteran who has been much more solid. 

It wasn’t a perfect outing despite the convincing 5-0 final score. Arizona outplayed Seattle for large portions of the game, and even outshot the hosts 39-25. Were it not for a superb performance by Philipp Grubauer, the outcome might have differed. Nevertheless, considering the Kraken can not make the postseason, this is the time to try new things and see what could translate to success next season, like with Wright.

It’s time for the Kraken to give Evans a shot by having him play on the top pairing. There are only five matches left on the calendar, with four of them away from home. One can argue there is less pressure to perform when away from the bright lights of the home arena. If things develop as they have with Wright, Evans could very well be a major cog in Seattle’s machine going forward.