Ryden Evers is one of the more curious names on the Kraken’s NHL.com roster right now, but there’s a clear reason he’s there. The 6-foot-3, 195-pound forward has aged out of his brief Western Hockey League run and is expected to slot into the young Coachella Valley Firebirds lineup in the American Hockey League next season.
Evers, a Burnaby, British Columbia native, went undrafted before landing with Seattle. He spent the last two seasons with the Penticton Vees, first in the BCHL and then in the WHL after the club moved up to major junior. In 2025-’26, he put up 69 points in 58 games.
That production, along with his frame and defensive game, was enough to earn him an entry-level deal that came in a little richer than the standard. The Kraken signed him to a three-year contract worth an average of $1.075-million annually, with the two-way structure meaning he’ll make the standard $85-thousand at the AHL level.
“We’re excited to have Ryden join our organization,” Kraken GM Jason Botterill said in a statement back on March 1st when Evers signed. “His development has continued to improve over the years, turning him into a responsible two-way center that brings size and skill to the group.”
At this stage, Evers looks like the kind of player who can help fill out an AHL roster and maybe get the occasional shot in the NHL. But the longer-term hope is bigger than that. Seattle would love to see him follow the path of undrafted players who found real success, like pest Yanni Gourde or defenseman Mark Giordano, both former Kraken, or like littler guy turned clutch scorer Jonathan Marchessault of the Predators.
Let the journey begin.
In Other News...
Kraken Fans Got Another Frustrating National TV Reality Check
Seattle fans hoping for a heavier dose of their team on the big national stages are facing another familiar grind this season. The Kraken are again set for a modest run of exposure on ESPN and TNT, while most of their schedule will remain where local viewers are used to finding it, on the Kraken Hockey Network, with games primarily on KONG 6/16 and simulcast on KING 5.
There is a little more wrinkle for cord-cutters and streaming-first viewers, too. A handful of additional Kraken games are headed to ESPNs streaming-only package, which means another subscription decision for anyone trying to follow every game without missing a beat. It is the kind of broadcast map that keeps Seattle in the league picture, but still leaves plenty of the season tucked away from the national spotlight. [Read more 🡒]
Why The Kraken Identity Still Hits Different For Seattle Fans
Five seasons into the franchises life, the Seattle Kraken are still carrying a name that feels built for this market. The identity landed in the summer of 2020, and it gave hockey in Seattle something more than an expansion label: a look and feel rooted in the citys connection to the water and its place in the sports history.
For fans, that matters because the Kraken have never had to pretend to be something else. The brand reaches back to Seattles maritime past while also nodding to the Seattle Metropolitans, the first U.S. team to win the Stanley Cup, which gives the whole operation a sense of lineage. Now entering their sixth season, the challenge is making that identity mean even more with a stronger playoff run. [Read more 🡒]