Seattle Kraken Rookie Ryker Evans Featured In Premiere Episode Of "Road To The Winter Classic"

"It wouldn't be an NHL season without ups and downs."

So begins actor Morgan Spector's narration for this year's version of the annual hockey documentary series, "Road To The Winter Classic." 

The series, which premiered Wednesday on TNT cable network and the Max streaming service, goes behind-the-scenes with the Seattle Kraken and the Vegas Golden Knights. The NHL's two newest franchises will meet on New Year's Day at T-Mobile Park, home of the Seattle Mariners.

The series begins, as Kraken fans know too well, with the team mired in a losing streak. "We've got to beat good teams. We've got to do it now," a mic'ed-up coach Dave Hakstol tells center Yanni Gourde on the ice at Kraken Community Iceplex.

Series producers find one of their story lines in a rookie defenseman just called up to the Kraken, 2021 2nd round draft pick Ryker Evans. At practice, in advance of his NHL debut against the New Jersey Devils, Hakstol tells the rookie, "Be ready to roll tomorrow." 

We next see Evans behind the wheel. "I remember being nervous my first NHL game, but also excited," teammate and passenger Devin Shore tells Evans. Like Evans, Shore is a callup from the Kraken's AHL farm team in Coachella Valley, CA.

As their son prepares to take his solo lap - a tradition imposed on NHL newcomers - prior to the game against New Jersey, the show hears from his parents. "It hasn't really sunk in," says Ryker's mom, Lisa Evans. "I believed in him for so long, but now, it's just emotional. So proud of him."

Adds Mike Evans, Ryker's dad, sitting in a Climate Pledge Arena seat next to his wife, "The tears came when he came out for his rookie lap. I didn't think I was going to cry. But I did."

At that, mom and dad both laugh. Says Lisa, "It's amazing."

At the end of the first period of the Devils game, the referee tells the Kraken as they're leaving the ice, "Keep the puck for the kid's first game." Sure enough, Evans is shown holding that puck in the dressing room afterward, labled, "1st NHL game."

As we now know, the 2-1 loss to the Devils would be the Kraken's sixth of what would grow to become an eight game winless streak.

A future episode of "Road" will likely show Evans holding another puck, this one labled "1st NHL point." The defenseman's slick pass from behind the net set up Pierre-Edourd Bellemare for a goal in Seattle's 4-0 shutout of the Florida Panthers Tuesday. 

The team (and show producers, no doubt) hope this will be the beginning of a more positive streak. The Kraken host the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday at CPA.

Episodes two and three of "Road To The Winter Classic" will debut on TNT and Max at 3:30 pm Pacific on the next two Wednesdays, Dec. 20 and Dec. 27. The fourth and final installment airs January 1 at 10:30 am Pacific, prior to the 12 noon Pacific puck drop between the Kraken and Golden Knights.