Evangelista playing leading man in return
Luke Evangelista, the London Knights’ captain, is looking to one-up his breakout 2019-20 season by becoming the go-to man on offense this year.
(Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).
Luke Evangelista remembers when it all began to turn around.
The 19-year-old right winger – then, 17 – was playing his third game of the 2019-2020 season, his second as a Knight, when he tallied three assists in a 6-2 win over the Erie Otters at Budweiser Gardens. It was Sept. 27, and his helpers – on goals scored by Connor McMichael, Matvey Guskov and Alec Regula – marked a turning point in the youngster’s junior career.
“That was a big game that propelled me,” said Evangelista, who today captains London’s junior team, is a Nashville Predators draftee, and is a player worthy of suiting up for Team Canada at this year’s World Junior Championships.
A handful of games later, against Kingston at home, Evangelista, who’d gone scoreless in his first season with the Knights (27 games), tallied his first OHL goal – and then his second, and then his third. He finished the 6-3 win with a hat-trick and four points.
He felt like he’d arrived.
“I was playing with McMichael and (Liam) Foudy, and that was a huge opportunity for me. It was a confidence booster,” said Evangelista, who had struggled in that department the year prior, his rookie season where minutes had been sparse. “I was a year older, and a year stronger. I was more physically and mentally mature, but I think my confidence was the big difference.”
That confidence carried him throughout the season, a breakout year during which he totaled 23 goals and 61 points in 62 games for a Knights team that went 45-15-1-1 and sat in first place in the Western Conference, primed for a deep playoff run, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
“It sucks that we didn’t get so see that season out, but I try not to think about it anymore,” Evangelista said. “It definitely did sit with me for a long time, though. You know, what could have been … because we had a really deep roster, and we were all clicking.”
Alas, Luke Evangelista is a player that prefers to look forward. Just like he did during his transition from rookie bench player to sophomore sensation, the 19-year-old is focused on – and excited about – this post-pandemic 2021-22 season, which he thinks can be the best he’s experienced yet in a London Knights uniform.
“I think we can be really good this year. We have a bunch of drafted guys, a good older core, and a lot of talented rookies,” Evangelista said about this year’s green and gold, who opened the season with five wins in five tries. “Obviously, our goal is to finish first in the OHL, to win an OHL championship, and I’m excited for what the future holds for us here this season.”
In those first five games, which included an overtime victory and two shootout wins, Evangelista tallied a team-best eight points (four goals, four assists). He scored a pair of goals each in the team’s second and third games of the season, and he’s been aggressive – and confident – on offense, firing a team-high 27 shots on goal through five contests.
“I feel pretty good. I want to be a guy who’s counted on to score goals.” said Evangelista, who missed training camp – both the Nashville Predators’ camp and Knights camp – due to a shoulder injury. “I want to keep scoring at this pace. I want to be a 100-point player.”
He certainly prepared to be a century-mark point-getter during the pandemic, when the OHL was sidelined for an entire season. Training in his hometown, Oakville, Ont., the right winger was in the gym or on the ice whenever COVID regulations permitted it.
He trained with a number of friends (and OHL competitors), each pushing each other to take their games to the next level. That group included Shane Wright, the Burlington, Ont., native expected by many to be taken first overall in the 2022 NHL Draft in July.
“I had a good training group. There’s a healthy competitive relationship there,” Evangelista said. “You see guys you play against working hard, it makes you want to work hard too. It brings out your competitiveness for sure.”
(Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).
In March, the 19-year-old, who signed with Nashville in November 2020 (after being drafted in the second round, 42nd overall), traveled to Chicago to practice with the AHL’s Wolves. (With the Predators’ affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals, shut down for the 2020-21 season, Nashville entered into an agreement with the Carolina Hurricanes and the Wolves to share the Chicago affiliate for the season).
Evangelista practiced for a few weeks with the Wolves, and then made his AHL debut against the Rockford IceHogs in late March. He played 14 games in all for Chicago, tallying four assists along the way.
“That was a really big opportunity for me. I was fortunate to be able to get some games in last season,” the Knights captain said, noting that the adjustments he made shifting to the AHL were similar to the ones he experienced making the jump to the OHL. “It’s just the time and space. You have much less time with the puck at that level.”
For now, Evangelista’s level is the OHL, and his role is captain of the London Knights, a team that has become a perennial contender over the last several years under the guidance of head coach Dale Hunter.
Evangelista says he’s proud to be wearing the ‘C’ this season, and he wants to treat it as more than simply an honour from team management.
“I want to focus on being there for the young guys,” he said, “because I remember what it meant to me when I was in that situation. That’s a big thing for me.”
He wants to tell those rookies – particularly the ones not getting a lot of playing time – not to lose confidence. He’s been there, after all, and he came out the other side. He wants to tell them to keep working hard.
“Keep showing the coaches you want to get better and stronger,” Evangelista said. “That really helped me get to where I am today.”
Knight Watch: London won two of three last weekend without its stars; Big trade brings key defenceman to the Forest City; Goaltending duo continues to shine; It’s Erie Wednesday, Sarnia at home Friday …