Quote:
Originally Posted by ForeverFlameFan
@Sandman, do you have anything on Ryker Evans? He’s my first cousin. Overager, but he had a hell of a season with the Pats before the shut down. I am hoping with his stellar play he’s a 4th-7th round pick.
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There's not a lot out there about him to say what he is as a player, and not a lot of video, but I can tell you what I see by looking at the numbers, and his highlights (not a pro scout, just my opinion, lol):
First of all, Ryker is playing on a very mediocre team-there's not an abundance of talent, other than him and Bedard, so to put up 28pts in 24 games is quite impressive. The next highest scoring D-man on the team has 11pts. Evans was named Player of the Year for the Pats as well. I like the fact that he leads the team with 37 PIMs too-shows that he's likely not soft. He had 81 PIMs in 63 games last year, I really like that. EP says he's physical when he needs to be.
From the little video that I can find, he looks pretty mobile, but has a little hitch in his skating-looks a bit "knock kneed"in his extentions perhaps? Not getting the most power out of his stride, but still moves well. Has a good shot from the point, and of course-he likes to pinch. He's 6'0", 190lbs according to the Pats, so he's grown and bulked up over the last few years-size isn't a huge issue here. Unfortunately, there's nothing to show things like: how he distributes the puck, first-pass, breakouts, defending, running the PP,etc-all very important attributes for a defenseman.
I did read a little blurb from a writer (can't remember where), who said that he was surprised that Ryker didn't get drafted last year, and that he thought there was a good chance he'd get picked up this year. If the qualities I mentioned are adequate in his play, I could definitely see him being taken later. If he doesn't get drafted, his chances to make it are by no means over.