Luke Evangelista, London Knights, OHL
You might be asking yourself how could a player that’s averaging more than goal per game in his current season be so far back on this list? While that’s a fair question to ask, it’s mainly due to Evangelista likely needing some extensive time in the AHL with the Milwaukee Admirals before making that difficult jump to the NHL.
Evangelista is taking the OHL by storm right now for the London Knights with 32 goals and 32 assists in 64 games. Just incredible, out of this world type of numbers from the 19-year-old, about to be 20, and the OHL’s Player of the Week as recognized by the league’s social media page:
#OHL Player of the Week Luke Evangelista of the @LondonKnights leads the League with 2.06 points-per-game, surpassing his 2019-20 mark of 61 points over 62 contests in his 31st game of the season this past weekend 🎥 pic.twitter.com/l7HqUEPs8g
— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) February 7, 2022
Finding elite scorers that can be homegrown has always eluded this organization. Even someone like Filip Forsberg wasn’t homegrown and was acquired via trade, and highway robbery at that.
Evangelista’s path to the NHL looks to have at least one year left as the organization will want to see how he transitions to a more physical NHL. He’s a little undersized at 5’11” and 165 pounds, but he makes up for it wit his raw offensive skills.
If the team really sees fit, it’s possible he could be called up at some point in 2022-23, but preferably I’d like for him to get at least one full season of AHL experience.