The Columbus Blue Jackets have assigned goaltender Evan Gardner from the Saskatoon Blades in the Western Hockey League to the Cleveland Monsters, the team’s American Hockey League affiliate, club President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Don Waddell announced today.
Gardner, 20, posted a record of 69-34-13 with a 2.66 goals-against average (GAA), .911 save percentage (SV%) and 10 shutouts in 126 career appearances with Saskatoon since making his WHL debut in 2023-24. He also went 14-15 with a 2.90 GAA and .905 SV% in 30 career WHL playoff games. He was selected by the Blue Jackets in the second-round, 60th overall, at the 2024 NHL Draft.
The 6-1, 181-pound netminder went 25-16-6 with a 2.96 GAA, .902 SV% and three shutouts in 52 contests with the Blades in 2025-26. He finished second in the league in games played, fifth in saves (1,279), seventh-T in shutouts and eighth-T in wins and set career highs in games played, wins and saves. He was also named as a finalist for the Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy, presented annually to the league’s Humanitarian of the Year, on April 8.
A native of Fort St. John, British Columbia, Gardner finished with a 23-13-5 record, 2.82 GAA and .911 SV% in 44 games with the Blades in 2024-25 to rank fifth among WHL netminders in save percentage and seventh in goals-against average (min. 23 GP). He led the league in goals-against average and save percentage and ranked second-T in shutouts as a rookie in 2023-24 with a 21-5-2 record, 1.91 GAA, .927 SV% and four shutouts in 30 contests with Saskatoon.
