Dean Evason is back in the National Hockey League.

The former Kamloops Blazers coach – and Junior Oilers centre – has been hired as the next head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The 59-year-old Evason was let go as head coach of the Minnesota Wild in November of last year. He amassed a 147-77-27 record in 251 games over parts of five seasons in Minnesota, after he took over on an interim basis in Feb. 2020.

“Dean Evason brings to coaching what he brought as a player – passion, hard work and tenacity – and I couldn’t be happier that he will serve as the next head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets,” Blue Jackets President and General Manager Don Waddell said, in a statement.

“He has spent well over two decades in this league as a player, assistant coach and head coach and I believe that experience, combined with the outstanding person he is, will allow Dean to get the best out of our players and put us in a position to succeed as a team.”

Evason led the Wild to the playoffs in each of his first four seasons behind the bench. He finished fourth in voting for the Jack Adams Award, given annually to the NHL’s Coach of the Year, in 2020-21, his second full season behind the bench.

Prior to joining the Wild as an assistant coach in 2018, Evason spent seven seasons as an assistant coach with the Washington Capitals, and six seasons as the head coach of the Milwaukee Admirals in the AHL.

“I am incredibly proud and honored to be named the head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets and appreciate very much the opportunity that Don, the McConnell family, and Mike Priest have extended to me,” Evason said. “There is a great core and a lot of young talent on this team. I am really looking forward to working with this group and helping us become a team that plays extremely hard and competes at the highest level.”

As as Junior Oiler, Evason scored 141 goals and 236 assists in 171 games in Kamloops over two and a half seasons. He then coached the Blazers from 1999 to 2002 – his first head coaching role – and also spent time behind the bench of the Vancouver Giants and the Calgary Hitmen.

At this time, its not known if Kamloops native Mark Recchi – who was working as an assistant coach in Columbus – under former head coach Pascal Vincent, will stay on with the Blue Jackets organization.