Prospect Info: Jake Evans

[HOPE]

“I remember the play leading up to my concussion on September 2018. I was kind of out of it for a while. But once I got to the hospital, things started coming back. I was surprised how good I felt after. It was a tough few days. But then the symptoms went away. It was a tough way to start my pro career that whole incident....”

“It was amazing... Going into the year in college, I knew there might be a small chance... Getting the chance to play with pros while you’re still in college is great. I think it helped my transition out. You learn how to be a pro before you have to make that jump.”

“There’s obviously a lot more hype when you’re a higher pick. I just had to go in with that mindset after I was drafted it’s an even playing field now. You definitely have to earn your spot... Obviously I was happy just to be picked. But, right after it was my goal to make the Montreal Canadiens....”

“The draft, for me means nothing... You want to become an NHL player? Be good with and without the puck. Be a hard working guy. Listen to the coaches and you’ll play 15 years. That’s the recipe... Check your box in the morning. Take care of yourself. Be fit and play hard without the puck. When you have the puck, make the best decision you can. If you’re dependable, you’re going to get the pat on the back. You’ll get a roster spot. The NHL looks for good players... Seventh round... Third round... Invite... Free agent… Be good. It’s a business of being good... Then the coach has confidence to put you on the ice..”

Such a mature kid. He could end up being a 3C or a very good 4C

 

[ahmedou]

Such a mature kid. He could end up being a 3C or a very good 4C

For Evans yes. He's full of matureness. He really adapted his game there. As a young leader. It's such encouraging to read that.

I really like in general to watch as maximum the game from our prospects.

Then to make a compilation of their quotes. This method is something I thought is/will/would be useful for me and for us.
It's not me formatting their words. Evidently, it's them who's saying this type of stuffs. Not me obviously.

 

[dackelljuneaubulis02]

McMichael = Jake Evans.

I'm perennially bullish on our prospects to the point where my opinion means nothing but if there's one guy I can't get excited about, it's Evans. 40 points as a 22 year old rookie just really doesn't get the old hardware standing at attention if ya know what I mean....

 

[montreal]

I'm perennially bullish on our prospects to the point where my opinion means nothing but if there's one guy I can't get excited about, it's Evans. 40 points as a 22 year old rookie just really doesn't get the old hardware standing at attention if ya know what I mean....

I've likely seen Evans more then anyone on this board as I have seen a ton of him. He certainly had a pretty good season as 45 pts in 67 games puts him on pace for 51 pts in 76 which would be a very good despite being 2 years older then your CHL rookies would be but it's very good when you consider that only 1 team in the AHL had a lower goals per game then Laval. He's a playmaker that had no goalscorers for around half the season outside of Belzile.

But he's a guy that is tough to project due to his lack of physical tools, speed, skating, strength, mass. He makes up for it by being very smart, hard working, decent offensive skills especially playmaking and vision.

What really hurt him this year was inconsistency. In 67 games he had 13-32-45 but,

In 35 games he had 0 pts,
In 32 games he had 45 pts,

Started the season with 2 pts in the first 8 games then had a streak of 12 pts in the next 12 games, then in his next 18 games he had pts in only 4 of those games but 3 of those 4 were 2 pt games.

The good news was that in the 2nd half he seemed to be more consistent. From 1-12 to the end of the season he had 24 pts in the final 29 games but only once in that span did he go more then 2 games without a point.

So the question becomes how good can he be if he's with some quality goal scorers and finds a way to be more consistent?

 

[Pompeius Magnus]

I've likely seen Evans more then anyone on this board as I have seen a ton of him. He certainly had a pretty good season as 45 pts in 67 games puts him on pace for 51 pts in 76 which would be a very good despite being 2 years older then your CHL rookies would be but it's very good when you consider that only 1 team in the AHL had a lower goals per game then Laval. He's a playmaker that had no goalscorers for around half the season outside of Belzile.

But he's a guy that is tough to project due to his lack of physical tools, speed, skating, strength, mass. He makes up for it by being very smart, hard working, decent offensive skills especially playmaking and vision.

What really hurt him this year was inconsistency. In 67 games he had 13-32-45 but,

In 35 games he had 0 pts,
In 32 games he had 45 pts,

Started the season with 2 pts in the first 8 games then had a streak of 12 pts in the next 12 games, then in his next 18 games he had pts in only 4 of those games but 3 of those 4 were 2 pt games.

The good news was that in the 2nd half he seemed to be more consistent. From 1-12 to the end of the season he had 24 pts in the final 29 games but only once in that span did he go more then 2 games without a point.

So the question becomes how good can he be if he's with some quality goal scorers and finds a way to be more consistent?

I probably come in second as far as having seen the kid play the most and I have to say I agree on pretty much every point you made. I really think he had himself a good rookie pro season all told and I blame his slow start on him getting injured in camp and not having any pre-season. Look at Nylander, it's not easy getting your legs under you coming in late against guys that are already hitting their strides. His strengths and weaknesses are old news now and he'll never be a ''dynamic'' player, that's just not his game. I still like his smarts and overall game and I see a long pro career ahead for him, at the very least in the AHL/Europe.

 

[montreal]

I probably come in second as far as having seen the kid play the most and I have to say I agree on pretty much every point you made. I really think he had himself a good rookie pro season all told and I blame his slow start on him getting injured in camp and not having any pre-season. Look at Nylander, it's not easy getting your legs under you coming in late against guys that are already hitting their strides. His strengths and weaknesses are old news now and he'll never be a ''dynamic'' player, that's just not his game. I still like his smarts and overall game and I see a long pro career ahead for him, at the very least in the AHL/Europe.

I don't really look at it as he started slowly though, more like he was just more inconsistent. he had 2 pts in the first 4 games, and 5 pts in the first month of the season in 10 games. What really hurt him was from 11-25 to 1-10, in those 18 games he had pts in just 4 of those games, 7 pts in total in those 18 games but that was the worst part of the season for him.

So from the 1st game to 1-10, in 38 games he had 21 pts and in the final 29 games he had 24 pts so,

1st half - .55 ppg
2nd half - .83 ppg
overall - .67 ppg

Which is kind of odd for an NCAAer since usually they hit a wall physically or mentally in the 2nd half adjusting to the schedule after going from mostly just playing 2 games a week on the weekends to 3 or 4 and all that extra travel to go with double the amount of games.

Granted it would look a little different if you just split it down the middle and did 34 games vs 33 games.

1st half - 21 pts in 34 games, .62 ppg
2nd half - 24 pts in 33 games, .73 ppg

 

[Pompeius Magnus]

I don't really look at it as he started slowly though, more like he was just more inconsistent. he had 2 pts in the first 4 games, and 5 pts in the first month of the season in 10 games. What really hurt him was from 11-25 to 1-10, in those 18 games he had pts in just 4 of those games, 7 pts in total in those 18 games but that was the worst part of the season for him.

So from the 1st game to 1-10, in 38 games he had 21 pts and in the final 29 games he had 24 pts so,

1st half - .55 ppg
2nd half - .83 ppg
overall - .67 ppg

Which is kind of odd for an NCAAer since usually they hit a wall physically or mentally in the 2nd half adjusting to the schedule after going from mostly just playing 2 games a week on the weekends to 3 or 4 and all that extra travel to go with double the amount of games.

Granted it would look a little different if you just split it down the middle and did 34 games vs 33 games.

1st half - 21 pts in 34 games, .62 ppg
2nd half - 24 pts in 33 games, .73 ppg

I categorize it as a slow start more in the sense that he's been so consistent in his junior and senior seasons and like you said he was very inconsistant early. To me that's where the injury comes in.

 

[montreal]

actually what I should have point out is not his ppg 1st and 2nd half but the inconsistency.

1st half - 38 games, 23 games 0 pts, 15 games 21 pts
2nd half - 29 games, 12 games 0 pts, 17 games 24 pts

 

[montreal]

I categorize it as a slow start more in the sense that he's been so consistent in his junior and senior seasons and like you said he was very inconsistant early. To me that's where the injury comes in.

I see what you mean, I'd have to go back but I seem to recall him stating slow last year and then going on a tear but I could be mixing up his Junior year. Either way he was very good in the NCAA when you consider that he didn't have much in the way of talented goal scoring wingers at ND outside of his time with Bjork. In his last 3 seasons at Notre Dame, only in his Junior year did they have anyone get over 20 goals, as his Soph year the leading goal scorer that 14 in 37 and his Senior year the leading goal scorer had 15 in 40. His Junior year they had 2 players get 21 and then Evans was 3rd on the team in goals with 13.

 

[Tyson]

So many prospects all of a sudden, some of which are flying under the radar...3 come to mind- Evans, Vejdemo and Fleury.

 

[angusyoung]

So many prospects all of a sudden, some of which are flying under the radar...3 come to mind- Evans, Vejdemo and Fleury.

A side from Fleury, not sure if they can win a spot in MTL,this season no way I would say,but even beyond that?

 

[canadiensnation]

C Jake Evans provides a very solid all-around 200-foot game. He showed he can quickly adapt to different styles of play throughout the season. Evans has excellent hockey sense and vision, not a fleet a foot player but he uses his smarts to get around. He can play with pace and make quick deceptive passes in tight. His passing abilities and playmaking skills are definite strengths which attribute to his great vision. Positionally sound and uses his anticipation to break up plays in the defensive zone. He can protect the puck rather well but will need to work on his overall strength to fend off the defenders. He will also need to improve on the quickness and power of his release.

Notes: Habs Prospects in Laval

 

[ahmedou]

“The big emphasis for me is just getting stronger... Brossard is the best place to do it under the guidance of the strength and conditioning coaches here.. It's good to hang out with some of the younger guys that I'm teammates with and that I'll be teammates with soon. Back in Toronto, I'm working with Bryan Marshall. He works with the Vancouver Canucks. I'll be there for most of the summer... The first few weeks I was in there, we were pushing pretty hard and pushing a lot of sleds. The facility is just 10 minutes from my house... I'm training with my good buddy, Pat McCarron. He plays for the Florida Everblades (ECHL). I was pretty antsy to start working out right away after the season because it ended a little too early... So getting things going full-swing now is fun... Just getting on the ice in Montreal and being in Montreal, honestly, I'd like to be playing games in a few weeks. I'm going to show what I've at training camp and try to impress... That's the biggest thing... If I don't make the Canadiens, I want to be that next guy to get called up and I want to be one of those guys in Laval that's the go-to guy. If something happens in Montreal and they need a forward, I'd like to be that first guy up. Overall, I want to be trusted more at both ends of the rink... By the end of the year, it started to take form... I started to do a little better defensively and started to get a little more time on the penalty kill... And then faceoffs, too... At Notre Dame, I was more of a guy to take those big draws and I want to be that guy in Laval or Montreal. That's where I've got to take those next few steps... You've to find ways to contribute and being as well-rounded as I can will help me.

“My rookie season in the pros? I've got a lot more patience than I thought I did... I guess I went through similar things with Notre Dame... Where I started barely playing and I was scared I wasn't even going to be playing the next game. Not getting down on myself has been huge for me... My first two games in Laval, I played like 5 minutes each game and then I was honestly thinking that I might get scratched. If I got down on myself, I think I probably would've started getting scratched and things would've started going downhill. But, I stayed positive and then things started going a little better. You just can't be satisfied with what you did. You've to keep pushing and not take anything for granted. You can't go into the next year thinking: Oh, I'll do the same thing, for sure. I also can't put pressure on myself, like I've been saying my whole career now... You've to enjoy it, be driven and keep pushing to reach new levels. I'm definitely happy with my performance, but there are things I've to do to take that next step... You want to be confident, but don't get too high and don't get too low. That's where I'm at....”

“My first F1 experience? It was my first race of any kind... Ryan Poehling and I went together. When we were driving in, we just heard a bunch of loud noises. It's actually pretty scary how fast they're going. I just couldn't believe how fast the cars were... We were right by a turn, too. It was amazing to see how quickly the drivers can brake and then accelerate right back up again. I also didn't realize how big the track was until we got there. You also understand how big F1 is to the city. It's huge... Ryan and I are living together downtown right now. So we were walking around and all the streets were closed off. And there were so many nice cars driving by..”

“Me and Ryan Poehling? We're good friends. We've had a couple of camps together before and we're having a lot of quality time together right now. He's mature beyond his years, I'd say. He's driven to have a good first pro year. I think it's good that we're together. We can compete with each other in the gym and on the ice. Hopefully, we're teammates for a good amount of time. Ryan and I both went to college. So you've many more talking points and similarities in terms of the things we went through. I think that helps our friendship... We're pretty close. We're living right by the Bell Centre. So there's always a lot to do...”

Evans is definitely in my zone... Like he grabs over and over my attention. He's not just talking to talk. He's taking up the necessary actions.

 

[A55P2]

Nice to know he's hanging with Poehling. Getting the AHL team to Laval was such a good move!

 

[Tyson]

Evans had a solid rookie season in Laval. His skating has to improve or we will see a similar trajectory of Charles Hudon.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Evans had a solid rookie season in Laval. His skating has to improve or we will see a similar trajectory of Charles Hudon.

Skating and physical strength is areas he need to improve. I think Evans is the type to make gains from season to season and might (maybe) result in a bottom 6 player down the road.

 

[Adam Michaels]

 

[angusyoung]

Looking bleak to make it up with the Habs anytime soon.

 

[Habsddicted]

I've likely seen Evans more then anyone on this board as I have seen a ton of him. He certainly had a pretty good season as 45 pts in 67 games puts him on pace for 51 pts in 76 which would be a very good despite being 2 years older then your CHL rookies would be but it's very good when you consider that only 1 team in the AHL had a lower goals per game then Laval. He's a playmaker that had no goalscorers for around half the season outside of Belzile.

But he's a guy that is tough to project due to his lack of physical tools, speed, skating, strength, mass. He makes up for it by being very smart, hard working, decent offensive skills especially playmaking and vision.

What really hurt him this year was inconsistency. In 67 games he had 13-32-45 but,

In 35 games he had 0 pts,
In 32 games he had 45 pts,

Started the season with 2 pts in the first 8 games then had a streak of 12 pts in the next 12 games, then in his next 18 games he had pts in only 4 of those games but 3 of those 4 were 2 pt games.

The good news was that in the 2nd half he seemed to be more consistent. From 1-12 to the end of the season he had 24 pts in the final 29 games but only once in that span did he go more then 2 games without a point.

So the question becomes how good can he be if he's with some quality goal scorers and finds a way to be more consistent?

Evans is a project. He's always shown progression every year he has played. He has proved everyone who has doubted him wrong so far and I believe he will have his break out year in the AHL this year. You do bring up a valid point tough, he sometimes lack consistency. It is something he will have to work on to get to the NHL and I'm sure Joel Bouchard has already adressed this with him.

 

[montreal]

Evans is a project. He's always shown progression every year he has played. He has proved everyone who has doubted him wrong so far and I believe he will have his break out year in the AHL this year. You do bring up a valid point tough, he sometimes lack consistency. It is something he will have to work on to get to the NHL and I'm sure Joel Bouchard has already adressed this with him.

The question is he can continue to progress and get better, so far he has done so every year and we can't know if that trend will continue or not. What leads me to believe he will continue to progress was the 2nd half he had. If you look at the posts I have after the one you quoted I broke it down a little better. But another good point was made by @Pompeius Magnus that Evans was impacted by the injury and missed time at camp.

I'll post this again as it really stood out to me,

1st half - (Oct 6th - Jan 10th) - he played 38 games- 23 games 0 pts, 15 games 21 pts

2nd half - (Jan 12th - April 6th) he played 29 games- 12 games 0 pts, 17 games 24 pts


So here we see it, in the 1st half which if you look back was when the team had guys like Froese, Chaput, Agostino, if even for just a little, yet Evans was clearly very inconsistent. 23 of 38 games he was held pointless.

Then in the 2nd half things started to go much better for him despite all those vets being gone and having mainly just Belzile to help carry the bulk of the offense. This time only 12 out 29 games was he held pointless. So when the long season was wearing on as it does for any NCAA player since they have to adjust from around 30-40 games to 76 in the AHL, and the fact that the team's offense went into the tank after the vets were called up or traded, he still continued to play at his best production wise which to me is a very good sign.

Now we have to see how much work he's put in with the physical tools of getting stronger, adding some mass, improving his skating and foot speed. I have said Evans will play in the NHL, just don't know if he will be a tweener/bubble guy or can he improve his physical tools enough to stick full time either with the Habs or some other team at some point.

 

[Tyson]

Legitimate NHL prospect or AHL fodder?

 

[DangerDave]

Legitimate NHL prospect or AHL fodder?

Likely AHL. Was a nice goal though. He'll get some call ups for sure but he's likely a depth player

 

[CheldishGamibno]

Likely AHL. Was a nice goal though. He'll get some call ups for sure but he's likely a depth player

Seeing his development curve since his draft year, it's very hard to predict. I think he will end up a NHL player but not with the Habs, there's too much depth.

 

[Leon Lucius Black]

With Weise, Thompson, Peca being UFAs after this year and Cousins and Hudon on one year RFA deals there is a chance Evans could win won of the forward spots next year and even see some games this year. His versatility of being able to play centre or wing helps him a lot, plus he's a smart player who is solid in his own end which is something Julien would like.

 

[FrankMTL]

Seeing his development curve since his draft year, it's very hard to predict. I think he will end up a NHL player but not with the Habs, there's too much depth.

I agree with that. I wouldn't be surprised to see him bounce between the AHL and NHL, but ultimately more of an AHL player in my opinion. Hopefully he'll surprise us though. I expect a very good year from him in the AHL.