Friesen Makes the Most of Opportunities While Making Memories in Wenatchee, WHL

WENATCHEE, Wash. – Every opportunity that Evan Friesen has taken during his junior career is one that he’s taken full advantage of.

Friesen’s time in the Western Hockey League began in the summer of 2021, signing with the Winnipeg ICE as a free agent – in the span of four years, that opportunity to play at junior hockey’s highest level has led to a pro contract, a ball-hockey gold medal, a trip to NHL development camp, and more great memories than you can shake a stick at.

The Winnipeg, Manitoba product began playing hockey at 5 years old, spending 14 years climbing the ranks on the ice in his hometown. At 14 years old, he stepped onto the ice for the first of his two seasons in the Canadian Sport School Hockey League, suiting up for RINK Hockey Academy in Winnipeg. He made an impression in the classroom as well as on the ice, posting 34 points in two years at RINK and earning an alternate captain slot on the Academy’s U16 team, but also earning honors for his academic accomplishments at Shaftesbury High School.

He spent his 2020-21 season wearing the bright blue of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League’s Winnipeg Blues, but got only six games on the ice before the fall COVID wave forced a premature end to the season in late November. By the second weekend of the year, he’d gotten pretty well settled in, picking up goals in three of his last four games.

As Western Hockey League teams geared up for their return over the summer, Friesen signed with his hometown Winnipeg ICE, and found himself right in the midst of a team gearing up to make a run at a WHL championship. Five players from that 2021-22 team have gone on to play in the National Hockey League this season, including Zach Benson and Conor Geekie, who have become NHL regulars. As he stepped onto the ice for his first WHL season, Friesen also found himself surrounded by leadership from players like Carson Lambos and Connor McClennon, which he says paid dividends once it was time to wear a letter of his own.

“It’s not only things they were saying off the ice, but they say it and follow it up,” said Friesen. “When they say, ‘I’m going to be physical tonight,’ they go out on the ice and do it. They followed up their words with actions.”

Friesen picked up just six points in 46 games that year as the ICE made a run to the Eastern Conference Final, but proved himself an “iron man” the following year with 27 points, appearing in every single game as Winnipeg made its first run to the WHL Final since winning the league title as the Kootenay ICE in 2011. He was a steady presence on the ice during the playoffs both years as well, appearing in 14 games in Winnipeg’s 2022 playoff run, before notching nine points in 17 appearances in the team’s run to the WHL Final the following year. His goal in Game 5 of that 2023 championship series was the team’s last of the season, and as it turned out, its last as a Winnipeg-based club.

“We had a great group of guys. We all came together as one – I think that’s what brought us so far in the season and in the playoffs,” said Friesen. “We bought into everything – every situation, every system from our coaches. It obviously wasn’t the turnout that we wanted (in 2023), but it was a heck of a run.”

Two of Friesen’s core memories came true within hours of each other in the summer of 2023 – he finished the month of June with Canada’s national U20 ball hockey team, winning a gold medal at the world championships in Liberec, Czechia. Friesen scored five goals and added three assists during the tournament, including two helpers in the clinching game, a 10-3 rout of Slovakia on July 2. By July 4, he was on the ice at Winnipeg Jets development camp, getting coaching from – and wearing the logo of – the hometown NHL club he’d watched since he was seven years old.

“I got the call that I was going (to camp) while I was in Czechia,” said Friesen. “It was a crazy few days. I flew back, got back on a Monday night, and Tuesday morning, I was off to development camp. It’s professional hockey, so you’re learning the ways that the professionals do it – the way they take care of their bodies, the way they prepare for practice, the way they prepare for games. You know it’s the NHL because they put so much effort into everything they do there.”

That experience helped prepare him for the next stage of his junior career in Wenatchee – he briefly stepped in as an alternate captain early in the 2023-24 season and cranked out 52 points over a 60-game stretch, helping the Wild secure home-ice advantage for the first playoff round in the city’s first year as a WHL market. The 1,300-mile trip led to a lot of new experiences for the former Winnipeg players on the Wild roster, but for a few – Friesen included – it also meant coming home after practices and games looked a little different.

“The biggest thing was my first-time billet experience,” said Friesen. “I lived at home with the Winnipeg ICE the two years that I was there, and I played at home for the longest time before that. I’ve enjoyed every second – I’ve had great billets and got a warm welcome.”

The end of his first season in Wenatchee also led to another career first – a professional contract. Friesen landed a spot on the Utah Grizzlies’ roster in the ECHL at the close of the season, making his pro debut as the Grizzlies closed out their 2023-24 schedule at the Idaho Steelheads. When the 2024-25 season came around, Friesen was set to enter his fourth season with the organization, and was a natural fit to be the team’s permanent captain as a 20-year-old.

“Honestly, it’s a big accomplishment. I don’t take it for granted. It means a lot,” said Friesen. “It shows that your team, your coaches and your staff all have trust in you to be that one guy to lead the team and take all the information. It comes down to that trust part – they trust me to do things, and I’m honored to be the captain.”

His final season of junior hockey was highlighted by leadership not just in the dressing room and on the ice, but also in the stat columns. Friesen set new career highs with 32 goals, 29 assists and 61 points, leading the team in scoring and finishing as the top goal-scorer on the Wenatchee roster as well. His four-game week at the New Year’s holiday was a true next-level performance, though, earning the WHL’s Tempo Player of the Week award with 10 points, including a four-goal, five-point game January 5 at the Tri-City Americans.

Friesen stepped off the ice in Wenatchee for the last time on March 22, totaling up a memorable career, with 75 goals and 71 assists over 240 appearances in his four years with the Wild and ICE.

His climb is clearly just beginning, though – Friesen recently signed to return to the ECHL with the Grizzlies, playing in five games since inking with the club on March 25.

“It’s everyone’s goal, whether it’s during your junior season or after a junior season, to sign a professional deal,” said Friesen. “I’m just excited, and I’m looking forward to my future.”

And if the rest of Friesen’s career up to this point has been any indication, expect him to take full advantage of this opportunity, too.