1. Evason, 55, was born in Flin Flon, in northern Manitoba, but grew up seven hours south in Brandon, the province's second-largest city behind Winnipeg.
2. While playing junior hockey in Kamloops, he was drafted in the fifth round (89th overall) by Washington. He was on the Canadian junior national team in 1984.
2. A gritty 5-foot-10 center, he played over 16 seasons for five NHL teams — Washington, Hartford, San Jose, Dallas and Calgary — and had 139 goals in 803 games; he also racked up 1,002 penalty minutes.
3. After finishing his career playing in Germany, Evason coached in the Western Hockey League with junior teams in Calgary, Kamloops and Vancouver. The Capitals hired him as an assistant in 2005, and he was there for seven seasons, including 4½ with Bruce Boudreau.
4. For six seasons, Evason coached the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League. The Admirals were the top farm team for Nashville.
5. Evason, who is married and has three children, joined the Wild as an assistant coach last season; Wild general manager Paul Fenton had been Nashville's assistant GM while Evason was in Milwaukee.
