Kraken call up Ryker Evans as team seeks answers amid losing streak
CALGARY, AB - SEPTEMBER 25: Seattle Kraken Defenceman Ryker Evans (39) forechecks against Calgary Flames Defenceman MacKenzie Weegar (52) during the first period of an NHL preseason game between the Calgary Flames and the Seattle Kraken on September
SEATTLE - The Seattle Kraken have called up top defensive prospect Ryker Evans for his first chance in the NHL as the team searches for answers amid a five-game losing streak that has put the season in peril.
"I'm not making any promises on tomorrow's lineup – we never do that before game day – but yeah he's come here for a reason," head coach Dave Hakstol said. "He's done all of the things that we've asked of him and taken the necessary steps to earn an opportunity here."
Evans, 21, has eight points on two goals and six assists in 18 games for the Coachella Valley Firebirds of the American Hockey League this season. Evans was the team's second ever draft selection as he was selected in the second-round of the 2021 NHL Draft from the Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League.
Evans made a legitimate push to make the Kraken roster out of training camp in October. However, the Kraken have gone with a third pairing of Justin Schultz and free agent addition Brian Doumoulin through the first quarter of the season. Evans was sent down to Coachella Valley to have the opportunity to play for the Firebirds instead of being a scratch with Seattle.
"He's done a nice job, worked really hard in his development coming off an outstanding year last year, an excellent training camp this year, a good start to his year down there. So this is a great time coming into this home stand to add him to our group," Hakstol said.
Evans was paired with reserve defenseman Jaycob Megna for his first practice with the team since being called up on Wednesday.
Megna has been a healthy scratch for all 26 games of the season so far for Seattle. Being paired with Megna would seemingly imply that Evans won't play on Thursday night against the New Jersey Devils. However, the team could shuffle the pairings for the team's morning skate on Thursday just as easily, or give Evans a few practices with the team before putting him into the lineup.
Evans said he got the news from Firebirds head coach Dan Bylsma after practice on Tuesday.
"I was kind of surprised, but I'm excited," he said.
Evans is an offensively-minded defenseman that finished last season tied for 12th in points among defensemen in the AHL. He had 44 points on six goals and 38 assists in 71 games played for the Firebirds. He then had a breakout showing in the playoffs with five goals and 21 assists in 26 games played as Coachella Valley made a run to Game 7 of the Calder Cup Finals.
"I was just kind of touching up on a lot of things, most of it's just confidence and consistency," Evans said of his work in Coachella Valley so far this year. "I just want to be confident in everything I do. So I just got to play my game and hopefully it sticks."
A rookie defenseman likely won't be the solution to all of the Kraken's problems, however.
The Kraken (8-12-6, 22 pts) are tied for fifth-worst in the NHL in points percentage (.423) through 26 games. They have the third-worst goal differential in the league (-22) and are tied with the Chicago Blackhawks, Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs for fewest regulation wins (5). Chicago and Montreal each earned their fifth wins in that category against Seattle on the Kraken's current losing streak.
After leading the NHL in 5-on-5 scoring and shooting percentage last year at over 10 percent, the Kraken currently sit 28th in the league at 7.3 percent.
"We have to identify some of the areas where we need improvement," Hakstol said. "You know, defensively, we're pretty happy with everything. There's always improvement and areas that we can do better in, but if you look at it offensively, you know, there's two or three categories that we obviously need to improve in.
"When you look over the long haul statistically, you know, one or two more opportunities on your odd-numbered rushes, one or two more opportunities from the slot in good areas. One more rebound for us takes us from bottom of the league to top of the league. So, you know, those are some of the areas that we've identified and we know that we need to work and improve in."
Hakstol said it's not an issue with the quantity of shots the team is getting or lacking a net front presence. Instead, Hakstol pointed to the lack of consistency with their forechecking efforts and the effect that has on creating quality chances.
"To be honest with you, a lot of that comes off the forecheck," Hakstol said. "If you start looking at some of those shots from the Grade A opportunities, you know, a lot of those come from and come off of your forecheck and that's an area that we had been really efficient in a year ago. We're not getting it done right now. So we've got to find a few more of those.
"The trickle down of that is there's probably another rebound available somewhere, right? So it trickles down into the next area. Our guys are working pretty hard to get inside. You know, so you can't just... that's the easy thing to bang on, right? We've got to have a little more purpose in our overall offensive game. It's not one area. It's three-four areas combined that add up over the long haul."
The loss of Jaden Schwartz for the next five weeks due to an undisclosed upper body injury will certainly hurt Seattle with their effectively in front of the net. Schwartz is second on the team in goals with eight on the year behind Jared McCann's team-leading 12 through 26 games. However, the Kraken are set to get André Burakovsky back in the lineup soon as well.
Burakovsky has missed 19 games with an undisclosed upper body injury of his own that occurred on a hit into the boards by Jacob Trouba of the New York Rangers on October 21.
"Real close," Hakstol said of Burakovsky. "Third day today in a regular jersey, first full practice. Good long work day today so we'll see where he's at after, but he's very close. He's been champing at the bit now for the last couple of days. Just making sure we take all the right steps and, you know, when we do get him back we have long-term. He looked really good out there today. He's got good energy. Physically, he's feeling pretty good."
Burakovsky is a skilled offensive player with one of the better shots on the team alongside McCann. If he's able to get in gear quickly, he could be a sizable boost to the unit. He had just two assists in six games played before the injury. He also missed the final four months of the Kraken season last year due to a torn groin muscle.
"I've talked a lot about finding that swagger offensively. You know, we have to find that collectively through our competitiveness, through our intelligence and have those things infused into our game on a little more regular basis," Hakstol said.
But the addition of Evans and Burakovsky can only help so much. In order to get to 90 points in the standings at the end of the year, the Kraken will need to pick up 68 points in their final 56 games. To do so, the Kraken will need to play at a 100-point pace for the rest of the season, which is the amount of points the team finished with a season ago. And 90 points won't guarantee a spot in the playoffs either. It took 95 points for the final Wild Card spot last season.
The Kraken don't have much more time to figure things out before the season totally slips away from them.
Notes:
– The Kraken recalled forward Devin Shore from AHL Coachella Valley and sent forwards Max McCormick and Marián Studenič back to the Firebirds on Wednesday. The moves leave the Kraken with an open roster spot available for the eventual activation of André Burakovsky from injured reserve.