A former Kamloops Junior Oiler is getting a shot as an NHL head coach.

Dean Evason, who played two and a half seasons for the Junior Oilers  – and later coached the Blazers – has been named the new interim head coach of the Minnesota Wild. It’s after the Wild parted ways with Bruce Boudreau this morning.

The 55-year-old Flin Flon, Manitoba native spent several seasons as an assistant coach with the Washington Capitals, before being named head coach of the Milwaukee Admirals in 2012.

He then joined the Minnesota Wild as an assistant coach in 2018.

As as Junior Oiler, Evason scored 141 goals and 236 assists in 171 games in Kamloops over two and a half seasons. He coached the Blazers from 1999 to 2002 – his first head coaching role – but failed to make it past the first round of playoffs.

(Photo via Minnesota Wild)