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Friday, March 29, 2024
The Observer

Jake Evans inks two-year contract with Montreal

Less than a week after helping to lead his team to an appearance in the national championship, Irish senior forward and captain Jake Evans signed a two-year, entry-level deal with the Montreal Canadiens on Monday, the program announced in a press release Tuesday.

In the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, Evans was a seventh-round draft pick — selected 207th overall — by the Canadiens.

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Ann Curtis | The Observer
Irish senior forward Jake Evans surveys the ice during Notre Dame’s 4-3 win over Michigan in the Frozen Four last Thursday at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.


This past season, Evans led the Irish with career-best marks in assists (33) and points (46). His assist total was good for the fifth-best total in the country, while his point total ranked 13th. He also led the Irish with five game-winning goals this season — including the winner with 5.7 seconds left on the clock in regulation during Notre Dame’s 4-3 Frozen Four victory over Michigan last Thursday — and ranked second in the country with 550 face-off wins. All of those statistics culminated in his first team all-Big Ten selection this past season, as he helped lead the Irish to Big Ten regular-season and tournament titles during the program’s inaugural season in the conference.

Evans was also named the 2018 Senior CLASS award winner for men’s ice hockey. According to the press release, the Senior CLASS award is given annually to “a senior student-athlete who excels both on and off the ice, is classified as an NCAA Division I senior and has notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition.”

The Toronto native finished his Notre Dame career with 41 goals and 97 assists for 138 points in 158 games played. His point total ranks 21st in program history, while his total number of assists places him in a tie for 13th in program history. He also proved to be one of the program’s most durable players, closing out his Irish career by playing in 131 consecutive games; in fact, the forward only missed one game in his four seasons.