Ryker Evans Fast Facts
Number: 41 Position: Defense
DOB: 12/13/01 Hometown: Calgary, Alberta Height: 6-0 Weight: 195
How Acquired By Kraken: 2nd round, 2021 Draft
NHL Seasons as of 2025: 2
Previous NHL Teams: None
Career Bests: Goals-5 (2024-25), Points-25 (2024-25), +/- -5 (2023-24 – 36 games)
Notable: Undersized and underweight as a child, Evans was diagnosed with Celiac (autoimmune) disease. Removing gluten and substituting other nutrition resulted in better health and a major growth spurt.
Seattle Kraken defenseman Ryker Evans’ meticulous game prep has caught the attention of teammates and coaches in both Coachella Valley and Seattle. Goalie Joey Daccord once dubbed him “Blade Boy” because of how often he switches out skate blades and the one shop in Calgary which is allowed to sharpen them.
The AHL Firebirds one off-season put together a series of fun videos in the form of a chat show called “Tenny’s Talks,” hosted by then-Firebirds defenseman Matt Tennyson. Officially the show’s co-host, Ryker didn’t actually have a speaking part – despite being well-equipped on a deliberatly tacky poolside set with his coconut cup, sippy straw, snorkel, life vest, rainbow colored flippers and a bubble blowing machine!
Even if “Garth” (his middle name) isn’t the easiest to figure out off the ice, Kraken teammates like the defenseman Evans is rounding into. “He works so hard off the ice in the gym, on the ice in practice,” notes Brandon Montour. “His habits, his nutrition – I haven’t seen a guy eat 6-8 eggs every morning, all season. He’s going to keep growing, keep getting better. When he uses his skating, it’s trouble for the other team.”
Hard to imagine now that Evans was worried at age 17 about reaching the minimum weight requirement to play in the Western Hockey League. (At 15, he was still only 5-foot-4, 115 pounds.) As he revealed to The Kraken Pod, “We had to weigh in at the start of camp” with the Regina Pats. “We tied ankle weights to my thighs. My mom actually came up with the idea.”
Despite what ended up being four seasons and 195 games on the Pats blueline, Evans wasn’t selected in his 2019 or 2020 draft years. People who know Ryker’s unflappable demeanor may be surprised to learn that by the day of the 2021 NHL Draft, “I was mad that I got passed over twice.”
That oversight proved fortunate for then-Kraken GM Ron Francis, who placed a phone call to Regina on July 24, 2021. “Ryker, this is Ron Francis with the Seattle Kraken. Watching the draft?” Honest to a fault, Evans answered, “I just woke up.” “Did you see we picked you (in the 2nd round)?” “I did, yes. Thank you!” Kraken front office staff listening in erupted in laughter.
“I was just lying in bed,” Evans recalled. “My parents were upstairs watching the draft. All I heard was yelling and screaming. I thought someone set the house on fire. Two minutes later, Ron called.”