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Local prospect Evan Gardner signed an entry-level contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday, March 18th.
ByEd Hitchins, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter ● Fort St. John, Local Journalism Initiative, News, Peace Region, Sports ● March 19, 2025 ● 2 minutes of reading
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FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — A National Hockey League (NHL) prospect with local roots will begin his career with the Columbus Blue Jackets organization.
Blue Jackets president of hockey operations and general manager Don Waddell announced on Tuesday, March 18th that Fort St. John’s Evan Gardner has signed an entry-level contract with the NHL team, according to the team’s website.
The deal is for three years beginning with the 2025-26 NHL season.
The 19-year-old Gardner was drafted 60th overall in the second round by the team in the 2024 NHL entry draft.
Currently in his second season with the Western Hockey League’s (WHL) Saskatoon Blades, Gardner has seen action in 71 career WHL regular season games.
In 66 starting appearances, he boasts a record of 43 victories against 17 losses, 4 overtime losses and two shutout defeats; his goals against average (GAA) is 2.45 since making his debut with Saskatoon in the 2023-24 season.
Gardner’s playoff record is 10-4 with a 2.33 GAA in 15 appearances in the postseason.
Currently, the Blades are in a tie for second place with the Brandon Wheat Kings in the WHL’s east division, one point behind leader Prince Albert with two pivotal games against teams.
The Blades play the Wheat Kings on Wednesday evening, followed by a home and home series against Prince Albert beginning on Friday, March 21st to end the 2024-25 season.
More details about the announcement is available on the Blue Jacket’s website.
Author
A guy who found his calling later in life, Edward Hitchins is a professional storyteller with a colourful and extensive history.
Beginning his journey into journalism in 2012 at Seneca College, Edward also graduated from Humber College with an Advanced Diploma in Print and Broadcast Journalism in 2018. After time off from his career and venturing into other vocations, he started his career proper in 2022 in Campbell River, B.C.
Edward was attracted to the position of Indigenous Voices reporter with Energeticcity as a challenge. Having not been around First Nations for the majority of his life, he hopes to learn about their culture through meaningful conversations while properly telling their stories.
In a way, he hopes this position will allow both himself and Energeticcity to grow as a collective unit as his career moves forward and evolves into the next step.
He looks forward to growing both as a reporter and as a human being while being posted in Fort St. John.
This reporting position has been funded by the Government of Canada and the Local Journalism Initiative.
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