Evans credits his maturity and defense-first mindset to the two seasons he spent playing behind Phillip Danault. While it might not sound like a long time—and in the grand scheme, it wasn’t—Danault’s influence had a profound impact on Evans as a developing player.
“He was always good on faceoffs and always smart defensively. He was put in a lot of tough spots, but still looked solid out there and always helped the team,” Evans spoke of Danault.
If you ask the product of Notre Dame, he’ll tell you that’s the biggest lesson he’s learned about what it takes to be an effective player in the NHL: consistency.
“It’s a long season, and there’s going to be ups and downs,” Evans explained. “But it’s about always finding a way to help out the team, even if you’re not feeling your best. Having that consistency, not going through too big of slumps or having those bad games where you’re not even helping the team but hurting it, [are key.] You just got to find a way to chip away and find little things that can help,” he added.
Right now, the 28-year-old is doing exactly that—and then some. Past the quarter-mark of the season, Evans has been the Canadiens’ anchor in rough seas and the engine that never seems to stall. With 14 points in 26 games, the six-year Hab is on pace for a career high in that department.
“I feel like every season you hit spots where you feel really confident. This season has felt a little different,” Evans admitted, “where even when I’m not feeling physically at my best, I still feel okay out there because I know the League and I understand it more.”
“It takes a few years to really hit your stride, to know what you’re good at, and know which plays to stay away from. I feel confident out there now.”
In the National Football League, the title ‘Mr. Irrelevant’ is reserved for the final pick of the draft, often seen as a long shot to make an impact. At the 2014 NHL Draft, Evans came dangerously close to earning hockey’s equivalent of the title, only to prove his late-round selection became anything but irrelevant.
“When you get to a certain age, the League doesn’t care what round you were drafted,” Martin St-Louis told reporters this season. “Can you play?” he asked rhetorically. “If you can play, you’re going to play in this League, whether you’re a first rounder or not—because eventually the League doesn’t care if you were a first rounder.”
And if one thing’s for certain, the Canadiens head coach doesn’t either. In fact, St-Louis admitted he had no idea Evans was a seventh-round pick, and if you’ve watched him play this season, you wouldn’t think he was either.
“Jake knows what he is,” said St-Louis. “Since training camp, he’s showing he’s developed as a player, and he’s earned an opportunity.”
Evans knows the importance of capitalizing on opportunities. After all, the turning point in his career was an empty-net goal scored from 175 feet away in a game he wasn’t even supposed to dress for. Five years later, Evans continues to make the most of his opportunity and prove that he is one of the most underrated players in the NHL.
