Dean Clement Evason (born August 22, 1964) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice ...

coach and former player. He is the current head coach for the

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and play their home games at the Xcel Ener ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

(NHL). Evason was selected by the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, a ...

in the fifth round (89th overall) of the

1982 NHL Entry Draft The 1982 NHL Entry Draft was the 20th NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec. The National Hockey League (NHL) teams selected 252 players eligible for entry into professional ranks, in the reverse order of the 1981 ...

. Evason was born in

Flin Flon Flin Flon (pop. 5,185 in 2016 census; 4,982 in Manitoba and 203 in Saskatchewan) is a mining city, located on a correction line on the border of the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, with the majority of the city located within M ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

, but grew up in

Brandon, Manitoba Brandon () is the second-largest city in the province of Manitoba, Canada. It is located in the southwestern corner of the province on the banks of the Assiniboine River, approximately west of the provincial capital, Winnipeg, and east of the ...

Playing career

Selected by the Capitals in the

, Evason played in the NHL from 1983 to 1996 for the Capitals,

Hartford Whalers The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its existence in Hartford, Connecticut. The club played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 until 1979, and in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1979 to ...

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertain ...

Dallas Stars The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and were founded during the 1967 NHL expansion as the Minne ...

, and

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are the third major professional ice hockey te ...

. He was most successful as a member of the Hartford Whalers, where he compiled career highs with the team with 87 goals and 165 assists for a total of 261 points. Evason was a 20-goal scorer twice with Hartford, and was well known for his ability to get the puck to other players for goals during difficult situations on the ice. Evason also played in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, for the Canadian National Team, and in the German Hockey League before retiring as an active player. In 803 NHL games, playing primarily as a defensive-minded forward, he had 139 goals and 233 assists.

International play

Evason first played for Canada at the

1984 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships The 1984 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships (''1984 WJHC'') was the eighth edition of the Ice Hockey World Junior Championship. It was held from December 25, 1983, to January 3, 1984, in Norrköping and Nyköping, Sweden. The Soviet Union won ...

while in the midst of a terrific campaign for the

Kamloops Junior Oilers Kamloops ( ) is a city in south-central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the South flowing North Thompson River and the West flowing Thompson River, east of Kamloops Lake. It is located in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, w ...

. His selection to the squad was somewhat of a surprise, but he proved to be a productive player, recording six goals and nine points in seven games for the fourth-place Canadian squa

The Canadians narrowly missed out on a medal to the third-place Czechoslovakian team, losing 6-4 in their match against them that decided the medals. It would be thirteen additional years before Evason was again selected to represent his country. His final opportunity occurred in 1997 when Canadian national team coach Andy Murray (ice hockey), Andy Murray offered him a spot on the roster and the captaincy in exchange for playing a full season for the national team, which was then together for ten months per year. Evason was the only non-NHL player on the Canadian roster that went on to win their first World Championships in three years, beating Sweden in the finals, while scoring two goals and adding three assists during the tournament.

Coaching career

Prior to joining the Capitals as an assistant coach, Evason spent many years in the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior ...

in various coaching capacities, starting in 1999 as an assistant with the

Calgary Hitmen The Calgary Hitmen are a major junior ice hockey team based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The Hitmen play in the Central Division of the Western Hockey League (WHL). They play their home games at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Bret "The Hitman" ...

. He then became the head coach of the

Kamloops Blazers The Kamloops Blazers are a junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League (WHL). The team plays in the B.C. Division of the Western Conference, is based out of Kamloops, British Columbia, and play home games at Sandman Centre. The Blazers ...

from 1999 to 2002 and the

Vancouver Giants The Vancouver Giants are a major junior ice hockey team playing in the Western Hockey League (WHL). Inaugurated in 2001–02, the Giants have won one President's Cup (now known as the Ed Chynoweth Cup) in 2006 and one Memorial Cup in 2007 in t ...

from 2002 to 2004. He returned to the Hitmen for the 2004–05 season as a co-coach. In 2005, he was hired by the

as an assistant coach. In 2012, he was hired by the

Milwaukee Admirals The Milwaukee Admirals are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). They play in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee Panther Arena. They are affiliated with the NHL's Nashvil ...

as head coach, where he served for six seasons to become the team's second winningest coach in their history. In 2018, he was hired by the

as an assistant coach. On February 14, 2020, Evason was named interim head coach of the Wild. On July 13, 2020, the Wild dropped the "interim" tag from Evason's title and named him the fifth full-time head coach in franchise history.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Coaching record

WHL

AHL

NHL

* Season shortened due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

during the 2019–20 season. Playoffs were played in August 2020 with a different format.

Awards and achievements

* WHL West First All-Star Team (

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

) * Honoured Member of the

Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame The Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame and Museum is a hall of fame and museum for ice hockey in Manitoba, located on the main level of the Canada Life Centre in downtown Winnipeg. It was established in 1985, when the first honoured members were named ...

References

External links

*
Profile at hockeydraftcentral.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Evason, Dean 1964 births Living people Binghamton Whalers players Calgary Flames players Canadian ice hockey centres Canadian ice hockey coaches Canadian people of Icelandic descent Cowichan Valley Capitals players Dallas Stars players EV Landshut players EV Zug players Hartford Whalers players Ice hockey people from Manitoba Kamloops Blazers coaches Kamloops Junior Oilers players Minnesota Wild coaches San Jose Sharks players Spokane Chiefs players Sportspeople from Brandon, Manitoba Sportspeople from Flin Flon Vancouver Giants coaches Washington Capitals coaches Washington Capitals draft picks Washington Capitals players