You might think, hailing from Penticton, that Adam Evanoff would have had the shortest trek to Kelowna for the Victoria Royals鈥� Western Hockey League season. Instead, he had to fly in from Winnipeg, where he was with Stockton of the American Hockey League, observing their games against the Manitoba Moose.
It is an indication of Evanoff鈥檚 progression that he earned a professional contract with Stockton despite not being selected in the NHL draft. He has yet to play his first pro game but said the experience just being in Stockton鈥檚 training sessions was invaluable. 鈥淚 learned a lot facing older, faster and stronger shooters,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he players are more mature and everything speeds up.鈥�
Make no mistake: how goes Evanoff, so goes the Royals鈥� season. He is backing a young defence with only two returnees, a repurposed forward and six rookies who are 16- and 17-years-old. The 5-0 opening-game loss Friday to the Kelowna Rockets couldn鈥檛 be hung on Evanoff. He flubbed glaringly on the first goal, but then settled down to make some good saves in facing 35 shots, while Cole Schwebius saw only 19 to record the shutout for Kelowna.
With a defence so young and untested, Evanoff might be facing more hailstorms of rubber than the beleaguered Steve Passmore on those lowly Victoria Cougars WHL teams of the early 1990s, before a mercy trade late in his junior career sent him to Kamloops and a Memorial Cup championship and brief NHL career.
Every WHL sa国际传媒 Division team has a good goalie this season. Langford鈥檚 Dylan Garand of the Kamloops Blazers and Taylor Gauthier of the Prince George Cougars were two of the three Canadian goalkeepers on silver medallist sa国际传媒 in the 2021 world junior championship. Colorado Avalanche draft-pick Trent Miner has been reassigned to the Vancouver Giants from the Colorado Eagles of the AHL. WHL veterans Schwebuis and Roman Basran give Kelowna a solid crease duo.
鈥淓very team in the division has really good goaltending,鈥� said Evanoff, 20. He got into that group first by raising his hand in novice on a team his dad coached in Manning, Alta.
鈥淣o one else wanted to be a goalie on that team,鈥� the younger Evanoff recalled.
He was recruited at age 14 to the Okanagan Hockey Academy in Penticton, a city he has called home since.
Evanoff came to the Royals from the Moose Jaw Warriors midway through last season with forward Brayden Tracey, a first round NHL draft pick of the Anaheim Ducks, in a blockbuster WHL trade. Logan Doust, Nolan Jones and Brock Gould went to the Warriors along with four bantam draft picks, including a first-rounder this year and second-rounder in 2022. 鈥淭he trade was a shock, but you could see it coming because the Warriors were rebuilding,鈥� said Evanoff. 鈥淭he integration into the Royals has been seamless.鈥�
Evanoff got a taste of Royals lore by talking to former Victoria star forward Matthew Phillips while with Stockton. Phillips was drafted by the Calgary Flames and has played on their AHL affiliate since.
鈥淢atthew [Phillips] is a Royals legend and it was cool talking to him about the team and its history,鈥� said Evanoff.
Evanoff will also be part of the Royals鈥� historical record 鈥� and will have to be in a big way this season 鈥� if Victoria is to have any success in the abbreviated 24-game campaign.
