# Jake Evans (ice hockey)

Jake Evans (born June 2, 1996) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the seventh round, 207th overall, by the Canadiens in the 2014 NHL entry draft.

## Playing career
### Early years

As a youth, Evans played with the Mississauga Rebels of the Greater Toronto Hockey League (GTHL) and won the OHL Cup during his midget year. Thereafter, he joined the St. Michael's Buzzers of the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) for two seasons beginning in 2012, where he helped lead his team to a championship berth at the annual Dudley-Hewitt Cup and was likewise named as finalist for Rookie of the Year across the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL).

### Collegiate

Evans committed to play collegiately for the University of Notre Dame of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) beginning in the 2014–15 season and was named as team captain prior to his senior year in September 2017.

### Professional

Following his senior campaign with the Fighting Irish, Evans was signed to an entry-level contract by draft team the Montreal Canadiens in April 2018. Initially assigned to the Laval Rocket, the Canadiens' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, he received his first NHL recall during the course of the 2019–20 season. On February 10, 2020, Evans scored his first career NHL goal in a 3–2 loss to the Arizona Coyotes.
On June 2, 2021, Evans received a hard open ice hit from Winnipeg Jets forward Mark Scheifele during Game 1 of the second round of the 2021 playoffs that resulted in him being stretchered off the ice. For his actions, Scheifele was suspended for four games following the hit. Evans subsequently missed the remainder of the series against the Jets as well as the entire semi-final matchup with the Vegas Golden Knights due to a concussion, but returned as a replacement for teammate Joel Armia during the 2021 Stanley Cup Finals versus the Tampa Bay Lightning. He later signed a three-year, $5.1 million contract extension with Montreal that October.
Entering play for the 2024–25 season, Evans reached a series of milestones in the early stages of the campaign. On November 16, 2024, he registered his 100th career NHL point in a game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, effectively becoming the first draft pick in franchise history selected in the seventh-round to reach this milestone. Thereafter, he skated in his 300th career NHL game versus the Detroit Red Wings on December 20. In March 2025, Evans agreed to a four-year contract extension with the Canadiens.

## International play

Internationally, Evans first represented Hockey Canada as part of team Canada East at both the 2013 and 2014 iterations of the World Junior A Challenge.
In December 2017, Evans was member of the Canadian national senior team that captured the Spengler Cup in Davos, Switzerland.

## Personal life

Evans was born in Toronto, Ontario, to parents Wayne and Marilyn. His mother is a family physician with a practice in Mississauga while his father is a salesman. He has an older brother, Matthew, who works in finance, and two cousins who played college ice hockey at Cornell University. As a child, Evans played piano and earned his Grade 7 Royal Conservatory certificate.
In June 2023, Evans got engaged to high school sweetheart Emily Flat. They were married at the Luttrellstown Castle Resort located in Dublin, Ireland a year later.

## Career statistics

| | | | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 2011–12 | St. Michael's Buzzers | OJHL | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2012–13 | St. Michael's Buzzers | OJHL | 50 | 12 | 32 | 44 | 45 | 24 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 14 |
| 2013–14 | St. Michael's Buzzers | OJHL | 49 | 16 | 47 | 63 | 79 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 8 |
| 2014–15 | University of Notre Dame | HE | 41 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2015–16 | University of Notre Dame | HE | 37 | 8 | 25 | 33 | 29 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2016–17 | University of Notre Dame | HE | 40 | 13 | 29 | 42 | 47 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2017–18 | University of Notre Dame | B1G | 40 | 13 | 33 | 46 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2018–19 | Laval Rocket | AHL | 67 | 13 | 32 | 45 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2019–20 | Laval Rocket | AHL | 51 | 14 | 24 | 38 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2019–20 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 13 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2020–21 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 47 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 29 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 2021–22 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 72 | 13 | 16 | 29 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2022–23 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 54 | 2 | 17 | 19 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2023–24 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 82 | 7 | 21 | 28 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — |
| NHL totals | NHL totals | NHL totals | 268 | 27 | 65 | 92 | 103 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |

### International

| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 2012 | Canada East | WJAC | 4th | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 2013 | Canada East | WJAC | 6th | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 2017 | Canada | SC | | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Junior totals | Junior totals | Junior totals | Junior totals | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 12 |
| Senior totals | Senior totals | Senior totals | Senior totals | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

## Awards and honours

| Award | Year |
| GTHL |||
| Top Prospects Game | 2012 |
| OHL Cup | 2012 |
| OJHL |||
| Frank L. Buckland Trophy | 2013 |
| First Team All-Prospect | 2013, 2014 |
| OHA |||
| Top Prospect Award | 2014 |
| College |||
| B1G First All-Star Team | 2018 |