Evans Excelling As First Year Pro With Firebirds

For Coachella Valley Firebirds rookie defenseman Ryker Evans, the team's season-opening 22-game road trip brought just as learning lessons off the ice as he was learning on the ice adapting to the game - and life - at the pro level in the American Hockey League (AHL).

"I mean, you learn a lot in your first year. From the stuff you need to pack on the road and [things off the ice] like that," Evans told InsideAHLHockey.com in advance of Tuesday night's Game 3 of the Calder Cup Finals. "So having a bunch of older guys in the room, teaching you stuff. It's been great."

Evans, Seattle's 2nd round pick (35th overall) from the 2021 NHL Draft, certainly got a lot of practice packing his travel bag for the road early in the season, as Coachella Valley's new home at Acrisure Arena didn't host its first Firebirds game until December 18.

Despite the early-season adversity and extended road trip without a true home game until nearly Christmas, Evans been able to grow his game in a winning environment as a first year pro with a first year AHL franchise in the desert in Palm Springs in the Coachella Valley.

The benefits of that growth - and the unmatchable extended reps that playoff hockey provides for a prospect - has allowed Evans to have quite a successful first season in pro hockey.

His 44 points (six goals, 38 assists) in 71 games during the regular season were tops among all first year blueliners.

"I mean, it's been awesome. You couldn't really have asked for a better season so far, as especially for a rookie season," Evans said, before being sure to humbly divert the praise to his teammates.

Firebirds head coach Dan Bylsma is no stranger to the game of hockey, having a wealth of experience as both a player and a coach at the AHL and NHL levels - including leading the Pittsburgh Penguins to a Stanley Cup in 2009 - and he certainly understands the importance of having capable blue liners that can not only defend well but also lead the attack and open up the team's offensive arsenal.

"The back end drives the speed and the pace in which you can play, and we want to be a fast team," Bylsma said of the defense being active in the rush and joining the play offensively.

For Evans, who has been getting top pairing minutes as a 20-year-old rookie, he's been more than rising to the occasion in his first season at the pro level alongside defense partner Brogan Rafferty.

"Yeah, I mean from the start of the year they made it super easy. The guys just kind of welcomed me in and [it makes] you feel comfortable, which allows you to play your game," Evans said of his older teammates and the winning atmosphere helping build the confidence he's now displaying in the Calder Cup Playoffs in key moments of the biggest games of the year.

"It just goes towards the guys and how great of a locker room we have here," Evans added.

While towing the traditional hockey player line of avoiding self-compliment and praise and instead directing it onto the others, it's hard to avoid the fact that Evans is third in the AHL in postseason scoring behind only his teammates Kole Lind and Max McCormick with four goals and 20 assists heading into Wednesday night's Calder Cup Finals Game 7 finale.

The left-handed shooting blueliner has been a key cog in the team's offense all season long and in particular during the Finals with eight points (one goal, seven assists) in the six games.

Don't forget his triple-overtime game winner in Game 3 of the Pacific Division Finals round against Calgary, either.

If the Coachella Valley Firebirds are going to hoist the Calder Cup with a Game 7 win Wednesday night in the desert, it will be because their defensemen were able to relentlessly push the pace and be the driving force to open up their offensive arsenal.

"They're the generals. They're the guys executing with the puck on breakouts, and coming out of the zone," Bylsma said. "And they're the guys executing in transition. We want to play fast and our defensemen allow us to do that."