Seattle Kraken – Dunn Injury Hands Evans Big Opportunity

The Seattle Kraken placed their number-one defenseman, Vince Dunn, on long-term injured reserve (LTIR) with an upper-body injury on Tuesday. He suffered the injury after falling into the boards during the Kraken’s recent game against the Philadelphia Flyers, a 6-4 win, and is projected to miss at least a few weeks.

The move is retroactive to Oct. 17, meaning that the Kraken cannot reactivate Dunn and insert him back into the lineup until at least Nov. 12 against the Columbus Blue Jackets. This is due to the collective bargaining agreement, which states that players on LTIR must miss at least ten games and/or 24 days of the season.

The Kraken called up defenseman Cale Fleury in a corresponding move from the Coachella Valley Firebirds, their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate. Fleury has 63 games of NHL experience (two points) to his name and has scored three goals in three AHL games this season. He tallied seven goals and 36 points in 65 AHL games last season, leading the team’s blueliners in assists (29) and points.

Related: 3 Bold Seattle Kraken Predictions For The 2024-25 Season

For Dunn, this current injury is the latest in a worrying trend of missed time. The 27-year-old only appeared in 59 games during the 2023-24 season, missing 19 of the Kraken’s final 21 games and sitting out of an earlier game this season due to an unrelated injury. Dunn’s absence is significant as he ranks 12th among all qualified defenders in points per game since the start of the 2022-23 season (minimum ten games played). 

While the Kraken have started the season with a 4-3-0 record and are on the margin of the Western Conference playoff race, the injury threatens to derail a promising start to the campaign. The team was in the mix for a wildcard spot at the time of Dunn’s injury last season but went 8-13-2 over their last 23 games and owned the fifth-worst points percentage (PTS%) at .391 from the start of March.

For now, the majority of the puck-moving and powerplay duties will fall to sophomore Ryker Evans and NHL veteran Brandon Montour, the Kraken’s other key offensive defensemen. In particular, the 22-year-old Evans has a massive opportunity to stake his claim to greater usage and more favorable deployment (even when Dunn returns) as his coaches and teammates have noticed his continued development. 

Let’s dive into how this season could be the stage for his breakout performance and entrance into the wider consciousness of the hockey-watching public..

Evans Ready to Take On Bigger Role on Kraken Blue Line

Evans is by no means a newcomer to Kraken fans. The 2021 second-round pick made his professional debut in 2022-23, scoring 44 points in 71 regular-season games for the AHL Firebirds as a rookie. He followed up a fabulous freshman campaign with an eye-popping 26 points in 26 playoff games as the Firebirds made it all the way to the 2023 Calder Cup Finals before losing in Game Seven to the Hershey Bears.

Evans earned an extended stint in the NHL with the Kraken during the 2023-24 season but only posted nine points in 36 games as he acclimated to the demands of the highest level. He managed to produce six goals and 25 points in 43 combined regular-season and playoff games as the Firebirds once again lost to the Bears in the Calder Cup Finals. 

Among qualified AHL defenders aged 25 or under last season (minimum 20 games played), Evans ranked sixth in shots per game (2.4) and 14th in points per game (0.6) while the Firebirds accounted for 60% of all goals scored while he was on the ice (sixth). He was active in attack and didn’t sacrifice his defensive principles, just the showing the big-league brass like to see when evaluating potential call-ups.

Related: 4 Key Takeaways From The Seattle Kraken’s First 4 Games Of The 2024-25 Season

The departures of Justin Schultz and Brian Dumoulin during the 2024 offseason opened up a regular spot for Evans on the Kraken blue line, though Montour’s move to Seattle on a hefty seven-year contract worth $7.142 million annually partially obstructed Evans’ full ascension to a top-four role.

Montour’s status as a Stanley Cup champion and dependable offensive prowess (he’s scored at a 52-point pace since the start of the 2021-22 campaign) gave him the upper hand in the early going. He leads the Kraken in average ice time (ATOI) per game, while Evans sits fifth, coming in at around two minutes fewer than in his 36-game audition last season.

The Kraken’s ATOI deployment is displayed below and includes the team’s top six defenders by total TOI in all situations.

Evans and Dunn were already splitting time on the secondary powerplay unit, but the latter’s extended absence should open up more room for the former to play in all situations. If he stumbles, the team can continue to shelter him in a third-pairing role. If he succeeds, the organization could have a restricted free agent (RFA) at a steal of a bridge deal and form the nucleus of the Kraken’s future core. A win-win situation, right?

Evans Treading Water at Five-on-Five

A player’s scoring totals often drive most of the general discussion around the league, and Evans has tallied an impressive two goals and five points in seven games this season. Even so, Evans is doing the right things at both the offensive and defensive ends of the ice, which has led to positive possession numbers at five-on-five.

Evans ranks third among Kraken defenders in terms of the share of shots (52%) and fourth with a 50.6% share of scoring chances. Some of that is due to lower usage (he ranks fifth in five-on-five ice time), but he’s shown that he can be a capable bottom-pairing defender across parts of two seasons and deserves a greater look as Dunn is set to miss time. 

It’s not as though Dunn was having a great start to the season, either. At the time of his latest injury, he boasted below-average on-ice shares of shots (44%), expected goals (46%), and scoring chances (43%), all of which are the worst or second-worst marks of his career. It’s not wise to draw conclusions from a four-game sample in which he wasn’t fully healthy, but there is not a very high bar for Evans to clear in Dunn’s absence.

Evans Could Be NHL’s Next Rising Star

For those who are wary of Evans’ ability to take the next step in his development, they don’t have to look further than the Kraken’s own Dunn to find a recent example of a young, offense-first defenseman who first succeeded in sheltered usage before breaking out after being handed a top-four role.

That’s not to say that Evans will definitely eclipse 60 points this season or dominate play in an elevated role, but he has the tools to grow into one of the NHL’s most exciting young blueliners. Grab a ticket for the Evans Bandwagon before it leaves the station, as there might not be many seats available for too long.

Data courtesy of AHL Tracker, Evolving Hockey, Natural Stat Trick, and the NHL.