To call what Montreal Canadiens veteran forward Jake Evans has done in his NHL career anything other than impressive would be a slap in his face.
A former seventh-round pick in the 2014 NHL Draft, Evans was drafted to fill a depth role, with expectations likely to play in the American Hockey League. Evans, however, has shown that work ethic and a hard-nosed mentality can get you to wherever you need to go. I think that Evans probably felt he should have been drafted sooner, but the chip on his shoulder has played into the Habs' hands.
Evans has shown that he is an NHL player, and I think this season he has proven that he is more than just a bottom of the lineup centre. Evans has filled in as the second line centre over the least stretch of games, between Cole Caufield and Alex Newhook. If you have watched the line play, you know that Evans hasn't looked out of place.
That's not to say that he is the long-term solution for the 2C role, but he has played some of his best hockey this season. Because of that, he has looked like one of the Canadiens' best players, let alone one of the teams' best centremen. Evans has also been one of the best penalty-killing forwards, forming a pain-in-the-neck duo for the opposition with Joel Armia.
#Habs Martin St-Louis on what young players can learn from 7th round pick Jake Evans: "when you get to a certain age, the League doesn't care what round you were drafted... can you play? Because if you can play, you're going to play in this League..."
— Priyanta Emrith (@HabsInHighHeels) November 17, 2024
After the matchup with the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday night; a game that the Habs won 5-1, Maxim Lapierre, a former Montreal Canadiens turned hockey analyst had the ultimate compliment for Evans. I was unable to find the quote, but during the live broadcast post-game, Lapierre said that Evans is looking like the Habs' new Danault. What a compliment that is, Danault is one of the league's best two-way centres and a gem in the faceoff circle.
He is not going to fill the net, but he keeps pucks out of his net and he is the type of player that you win championships with. Offence wins games, but defence wins championships and having an offensive player who does heavy lifting defensively is a massive asset for a team. Evans is doing as Danault did before him, impacting the game in all three zones with smart, responsible play.
It isn't always pretty, but consistency is there
Evans isn't likely to wow the crowd, at least not more often than once every 10-15 games, with an end-to-end rush or brilliant snipe. But when he is assigned to kill a penalty or to take an important faceoff in his zone, Evans shows up for his team. He isn't a sniper, nor much of a playmaker, but he makes smart high percentage plays consistently.
A staple of Evans game is his skating, and you'd be right if you said the fastest player isn't going to be very effective unless they use it for good. Evans doesn't simply just skate hard when there is a chance for a break-away, but if there are odd-man rushes and loose pucks, he can be hard to cover. Evans arrives to pucks fast, and when he gets there, he makes wise decisions to put the puck into areas that benefit his team.
The 28-year-old isn't likely to turn a corner and become an elite top-six centre, but the fact that he is still improving is exciting to watch.