Introduction:
The Minnesota Wild, since their inception in the 2000 season, have always seem to have a rotating band of coaches and GMs looking to help lead the Wild to the Stanley Cup Finals. Even though the Wild’s history is typical of many professional minnesota sports teams that has a history of regular season success followed by playoff disappointments , current Minnesota Wild head coach Dean Evason is looking to change that trend. At the beginning of 2022, Evason led the Wild to a 62-29-7 record through 98 games up until December 30th of 2021, and is quickly proving to be a potential long term solution to the Wild’s coaching problems.
Before even starting with the Minnesota Wild as an assistant coach in 2018 however, Evason has an extensive resume of both playing and coaching at the NHL level. We will dive into both Evason’s playing and coaching experience at the NHL and International level, and offer insight into his coaching strategy with the Wild in this version of NHL profiles.
Early Life/Playing Career
Born in Flint Flon, Manitoba, Evason grew up playing hockey in Brandon, Manitoba, and was an elite prospect from an early age. Drafted by the Washington Capitals in the fifth round of the 1982 NHL Draft, Evason would split time between the NHL and AHL during his 13 year career, and would also play two years in the German National Hockey League. As a player, Evason would play in 803 NHL games with 139 goals and 233 assists, and would play with various teams including the Washington Capitals, the San Jose Sharks, Dallas Stars, and Calgary Flames. His most notable seasons came as an member of the Hartford Whalers, where he had career-high totals with 261 points with 81 goals and 165 assists throughout seven seasons.
Along with his NHL/AHL playing career, Evason also developed a strong reputation as an international player, and would represent the Canadian National team in the 1997 World Hockey Championships. He would first represent the Canadian National Team at the 1984 World Juniors Hockey Championship, and would score six goals and nine points in seven games during the 1984 run. During the 1997 World Hockey Championships for Team Canada, he would be nominated as captain and would be the only non-NHL player at the time to represent Team Canada for the World Championship team. Team Canada would go onto beat Sweden in the World Championship finals, marking the first time the Canadian National team had won in three years. Evason would retire during the 1998-1999 season after his 2nd year in the German Hockey League.
Coaching Career
Shortly following retirement from his playing career, Evason would take up an assistant coach position with the Calgary Hitman of the Western Hockey League. In the Western Hockey League, he would also coach for the Kalmazoo Blazers(1998 to 2002) and the Vancouver Giants from 2002 to 2004. He would get his first taste as an assistant coach in the NHL with the Washington Capitals in 2005, and would remain with the organization for the the next seven years.. He was primarily known in Washington for the success of their faceoff and plenty kill units during those seasons, and in the 2012 season, Evason was named the head coach of the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL. During his six seasons, Evason guided the Admirals to a 242-161 record with 4 playoff appearances, but was unable to get them past the first round of the AHL playoffs. After his stint with the Admirals, Evason would join the Minnesota Wild as an assistant coach in 2018 under Bruce Bordeau. He would be named the interim coach after Brodeaus firing during the 2019-2020 season, and was named the current head coach this past year.
It should also be noted that Evason was a Jack Adams trophy finalist during the 2020-2021 season for leading the Wild to a 36-16-3 record, and is an honored member of the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame.
Conclusion/Insight
Looking at where the Minnesota Wild stand now, Evason this current year has offered the Minnesota Wild a glimpse of hope in terms of future success in the regular season. The Minnesota Wild, as of this article’s publishing date, are ranked 13th in the NHL power rankings with a 22-10 record, but what Evason is going to need to prove is that the Wild can be playoff contenders and not just regular season contenders. Despite his lack of postseason success in previous coaching stints, Evason is a strong leader whose consistency in the regular season will give the Wild plenty of opportunities to make the playoffs in future years . He has experience as both a player and coach in big-time game situations, but only time will tell if his coaching ability will bring the Wild consistent postseason success.