Ladies learn finer points of hockey under direction of Kings’ Daryl Evans

BURBANK — When Daryl Evans was drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in 1980, ice hockey wasn’t exactly booming in Southern California.

Long before the existence of the Anaheim Ducks, playing for the Kings was the equivalent to being banished to the NHL’s Siberia.

“I was with a couple of my buddies at the NHL Draft in 1980 and I didn’t even hear my name get called and they told me I had been drafted. When they told me who I had been drafted by my first thought was ‘Los Angeles? Well, that’s a fine place to play ice hockey,’” Evans, 54, said with a sarcastic snicker. “Some of my friends were going to hockey cities like Toronto, Detroit and Chicago, and here I was going to Los Angeles.

“Hockey just wasn’t big at all out here then. I think we had our first clinic in about 1982 in Lake Arrowhead, I believe, and some of the kids who were maybe 14 and 15 at that clinic were able to do the same things that maybe a 7 or 8 year old in Canada could do.”

Coaching for 45 years, Evans, who spent seven years in the NHL with the Kings, Washington Capitals and his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs, has seen the sport explode in Southern California over the years. With Wayne Gretzky coming to the Kings in 1988 and Anaheim winning a Stanley Cup title in 2007 and Los Angeles capturing two in 2012 and 2014, ice hockey has enjoyed an upswing in the sunny Southland.

With Olympic and international women’s hockey increasing in popularity in recent years, females have also gotten in on the boon in the sport. Eighteen women took to the ice Tuesday in a final session of the Daryl Evans Women’s Workshop at Burbank’s Pickwick Ice, sponsored by the L.A. Kings. The clinic began July 21 and consisted of four, one-hour workout sessions.

“Over the last five or 10 years, but even more so now, we have seen an increased interest with women and, particularly, young girls,” said Evans, who has served as the Kings’ radio color commentator for 16 years. “I think the girls and women are feeling confident in the sport and I would like to see them playing more on the competitive level. At a young age, it’s not like their they’re not competitive and they can’t play against other young boys. But I think at a young age, if they could establish an identity of playing hockey against other girls that would encourage more of them to come out and play.”

One of the participants who is a good example of the increased interest in ice hockey among women is 31-year-old Leslie Medina of Norwalk. Medina said she drove two hours from Seal Beach to Burbank Tuesday to make it to the evening session.

“I have only been playing hockey for a few months, since March I think,” Medina said. “I first played hockey recently when I signed up for a hockey camp at Lakewood Ice and I kind of just learned the basics. But after that I was hooked and I went out and purchased all my gear. Ever since March, I have been looking for and going to different places to learn.

“It is really empowering to play a sport that has traditionally been played mostly by men. When we’re out there playing, we’re just as focused and determined as the men. I was at a camp recently with men and women and I got knocked down by a man and he was like, ‘Are you OK?” And I just popped up and said ‘I’m fine.”’

The clinic attracted players of all skill levels. Evans, who finished his NHL career with 22 goals and 30 assists for 52 points in 113 games, spent the early sessions helping teach the participants some of the finer points of the game. Along with skating, the athletes learned skills like passing, shooting, stick-handling and cross-overs.

Along with getting a final skills brush-up during the last session, participants ended the clinic with a full scrimmage.

“In the beginning, we just kind of see where everyone’s at as far as the skill level,” Evans said. “We like to start out with an introduction to the skating skills of the game. Then we jump into our skills portion and then do some drills like two-on-ones and three-on-ones and then we try to bring it all together at the end.”

Francesca Valdez, 21, of Cudahy, had only skated once before tackling Evans’ workshop. Although she said it has been hard work learning the intricacies of the game, she has had fun.

“The great thing about learning here is that Daryl Evans is a great coach and he makes it a lot easier to learn,” she said. “Everything I know and learned about hockey has come from Daryl Evans. I was a little iffy on my skating before coming here and I think I’ve gotten better with that.”

Michelle Ridenour, 29, of Woodland Hills said it is Evans’ expertise that allowed her to improve her hockey skills.

“The stuff he is teaching us are things that we can work on on our own,” Ridenour said. “So you can go to a public skating rink and work on those skills. He really breaks down the skills very well and he explains things in a way you can understand. We usually have two staff people from the Kings on the ice as well helping us and giving us pointers. ...I’m really having a blast.”

In addition to the workshop in Burbank, Evans has also held clinics for men and women, adults and children, in Valencia, Las Vegas, Carlsbad, Cathedral City and El Segundo during the summer.

“I really enjoy being out there and teaching, no matter the age or skill level,” said Evans, who scored one of the most historic goals in Kings history, tallying the game-winner in Los Angeles’ overtime playoff win during the first round of the 1982 playoffs that has become known as “The Miracle on Manchester”. “The game is growing so quickly at so many different levels and that is really great to see. The only problem is we just need more ice surfaces so the people who want to play hockey have a place to play.”