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Montreal Canadiens: Good signs for Jake Evan’s future in the NHL

By Omar L

ST. PAUL, MN - APRIL 05: Notre Dame Fighting Irish forward Jake Evans (18) celebrates after scoring in the 2nd period to tie it 2-2 during the Frozen Four semifinal game between the Michigan Wolverines and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on April 5, 2018 at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by David Berding/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
ST. PAUL, MN - APRIL 05: Notre Dame Fighting Irish forward Jake Evans (18) celebrates after scoring in the 2nd period to tie it 2-2 during the Frozen Four semifinal game between the Michigan Wolverines and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on April 5, 2018 at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by David Berding/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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Montreal Canadiens prospect Jake Evans is awaiting his professional debut next season, and there are good signs that he will play in the NHL someday.

The Montreal Canadiens did a good thing in taking a chance on Jake Evans in 2014. Drafting in the seventh-round is never a guarantee to find talent, but the Toronto native has been a pleasant surprise. His growth over the last four years with the University of Notre Dame has brought Evans from a maybe to a confident nod.

After signing a two-year entry-level deal with the Montreal Canadiens earlier this month, the next step for Evans is training camp in September. It’ll be there where we’ll get an indication of where he plays for the 2017/18 season. Seeing as how Claude Julien wasn’t shy to give young players an opportunity as Victor Mete made the team as a 19-year-old defenceman, Evans could force a lot of hands and get a look.

However, it may not be a matter of if for Evans, but when. Other college players have gone on to have good beginnings to their NHL careers. Evans may not have as overwhelming numbers as the others like Clayton Keller or Brock Boeser, but his possible role will make him a player of value in the future.

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Coaches love a reliable 200-foot player, and Evans used that to describe his play in an interview with 91.9. He also mentioned that he likes to take the big faceoffs in important moments of a game and if you saw him play for the Fighting Irish, you’d agree.

What the seventh-round pick has is the ‘Clutch Factor’ that you generally see from players in deep playoff runs. His game-winning goal with 3.7 seconds left in Notre Dame’s semi-final Frozen Four game is a pretty decent example.

We’ll see how the young centre grows as part of the Montreal Canadiens prospect pool. Even if he does end up having to start in the AHL with the Laval Rocket, it’ll be another chapter in an already good story.

Next: Final 2018 Draft Rankings

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