Ryker Evans' Year-Long Kraken Audition Concludes Thursday vs. Wild

The curtain closes Thursday on Seattle Kraken defenseman Ryker Evans' three act play of a season.

Of course, that goes for all the Kraken, who bid a not-so-fond farewell to 2023-24 tonight against the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center.

For Evans, it's been more like three mini-seasons.

The rookie d-man began at AHL Coachella Valley, where he played the first 18 games. Based on his play there, following an impressive training camp, it was just a matter of time before he was called up to Seattle.

Act II premiered at Climate Pledge Arena on Dec. 7 against the New Jersey Devils. The 2021 2nd round draft pick played 20 shifts, 17:50 TOI, took two shots, finished +1 - and most important, didn't look out of place.

For the next two months, Evans would pop in and out of the lineup, based partly on the health and availability of more senior Seattle blueliners. Evans was returned to the Firebirds between New Year's Day and Feb. 3. He'd be scratched for almost a month starting Feb. 13.

In Calgary on Mar. 4, top-pair Kraken defenseman Vince Dunn incurred a dirty hit by the Flames' Martin Pospisil. Dunn's head slammed against the glass. Officially called an "upper body" injury, it's not a stretch to believe Dunn suffered a concussion, which earned Pospisil a three game suspension.

That occasioned Act III, with understudy Evans set to play his 20th consecutive game tonight in St. Paul. (Dunn eventually returned for two games, got hit on the arm with a shot, and the team decided to shut him down for the rest of the season.)

All indications are that based on a year of auditioning, a permanent opening will be reserved for Ryker Evans next season. Coach Dave Hakstol talks about the Calgary native in today's Kraken Reaction video.