William John Trevor "Jack" Evans (April 21, 1928 – November 10, 1996) was 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 hock ...
defenceman
Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the la ...
and coach who played 14 seasons in the
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
for the
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...
and
Chicago Black Hawks
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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.
Early life
Evans was born in
Morriston
Morriston (; cy, Treforys ) is a Community (Wales), community in the City and County of Swansea, Wales and falls within the Morriston (electoral ward), Morriston ward. It is the largest community in Swansea county.
Morriston is sometimes ref ...
,
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
, but emigrated with his parents to
Drumheller
Drumheller is a town on the Red Deer River in the badlands of Central Alberta, east-central Alberta, Canada. It is northeast of Calgary and south of Stettler, Alberta, Stettler. The Drumheller portion of the Red Deer River valley, often ref ...
, Alberta in his youth. He spoke only the
Welsh Language
Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language family, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut P ...
and no English until he entered school, and later spoke the language with an elongated drawl; the similarities between Evans' manner of speaking and the traditional Southern accent led to him earning the nickname of "Tex" from teammates. Although he did not begin playing hockey until age 14, by age 20, a quick-learning Evans was a leading junior league defenceman and participated in the 1948
Memorial Cup
The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League, a consortium of three major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tournament played between t ...
. That same year, he signed a minor league contract with the Rangers
Professional career
Evans played five games over the next two seasons, while gaining experience in the
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...
. He would then spend the next four years as the Rangers' seventh defenceman, moving in and out of the lineup as needed and serving as a valuable defensive reserve. During the
1954–55 NHL season, Evans finally cracked the regular lineup and worked significant minutes for the next three years on the blue lin
In 1958, he was claimed by Chicago, where he would play in a similar role for his final four seasons. He was a member of the 1961
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...
winning team making him the first
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
born Stanley Cup Champion. Jack Evans played in 1962 NHL All Star game in Toronto also making him the first NHL All Star player originating from
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
. In 1964, the Black Hawks released Evans, but the veteran continued to play in a variety of minor leagues until he finally retired in 1972 at the age of 4
Coaching career
In 1974, Evans was hired to coach the Salt Lake Golden Eagles of the
Western Hockey League (1952–1974), WHL. After one season that included coach of the year honors, he was promoted to the parent club
California Golden Seals
The California Golden Seals were a professional ice hockey club that competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1967 to 1976. Based in Oakland, California, they played their home games at the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena. The S ...
. He coached the anemic franchise in its final year in the Bay Area and its two seasons as the
Cleveland Barons The name Cleveland Barons has been used by three professional hockey teams and one junior team.
*Cleveland Barons (NHL), the National Hockey League team that played between 1976 and 1978
*Cleveland Barons (1937–1973), the original American Hockey ...
before the financially troubled organization merged with the
Minnesota North Stars
The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, and the team's colors for ...
in 1978. The NHL returned to the Bay Area when the
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 & Entertainm ...
franchise started play in 1991.
Evans returned to the ECHL bench before being hired by the
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 ...
in 1983. In his third season with the club, he earned a playoff berth, and in 1987, he led the club to a division title. A poor performance the following year resulted in Evans being fired midseason.
Death
Evans died of
prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that sur ...
at his
Manchester, Connecticut
Manchester is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town had a total population of 59,713. The urban center of the town is the Manchester census-designated place, with a population of 36,379 at the 202 ...
home in 1996 at the age of 68.
NHL Coaching record
See also
*
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Jack
1928 births
1996 deaths
Buffalo Bisons (AHL) players
California Golden Seals coaches
Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States
Canadian ice hockey coaches
Canadian ice hockey defencemen
Chicago Blackhawks players
Cincinnati Mohawks (AHL) players
Cleveland Barons (NHL) coaches
Deaths from cancer in Connecticut
Deaths from prostate cancer
Hartford Whalers coaches
Hartford Whalers scouts
Ice hockey people from Alberta
Los Angeles Blades (WHL) players
Naturalized citizens of Canada
New Haven Ramblers players
New York Rangers players
People from Drumheller
St. Louis Blues scouts
San Diego Gulls (WHL) players
San Francisco Seals (ice hockey) players
Saskatoon Quakers players
Stanley Cup champions
Vancouver Canucks (WHL) players
Victoria Cougars (1949–1961) players
Welsh emigrants to Canada