And, as an American that played in the United States National Team Development Program, Kevan idolizes Jack Hughes.
“I’ve been following their team quite a bit, especially with a guy like Jack Hughes, the player that’s an American and all American kids look up to,” he said. “To be able to say I’m in an organization with a player like that, I’m super proud of it and I can’t wait to get going.”
Kevan’s connection to New Jersey goes back to 2022 when he won a national championship in the state as a member of the Jr. Kings. He used his time in the Jr. Kings program to catapult to the Des Moines Buccaneers of the USHL and the USNTDP - which helped him score the bronze medal-winning overtime goal for Team USA against Slovakia at the U-18 World Junior Championship.
With Des Moines, he posted 13 goals and 43 points in 51 games in 2024-25. The previous year, he notched 24 goals and 57 points in 59 contests.
The Buccaneers struggled this past season, going 25-32-5-0 for 55 points. They missed the playoffs by seven points. Despite the team’s struggles, Kevan found the positives in the experience.
“I hate to say it, learning how to lose,” he said of what he learned last year. “I would have loved to win there more. But I think it’s such a valuable lesson to learn, especially as I grow older. Learning how to take losses and not see them as negatives but see them as building blocks for the next game.”
As with all young prospects, Kevan will make it a priority to bulk up his 6-foot-1, 179-pound frame.
“Biggest is getting stronger,” he said. “Being an 18-year-old kid, I want to make the NHL. I want to be bigger and stronger to be able to play against grown men.”
But what’s impossible to teach is preternatural talent. And with his hands, skill, smarts and skating, he’s already well ahead of the pack.
“I’m a high-energy, high-paced winger that’s able to get up and down the ice quickly,” he said of his game. “I’m able to use my speed to get pucks into good areas, get pucks back and get in on the forecheck and the backcheck.”
If that sounds similar to Vegas’ Tomas Hertl, it’s not a coincidence. Growing up in the San Francisco area, Kevan was a fan of the San Jose Sharks, particularly Tomas Hertl when he was a member of the team. And it’s a player upon which he’s modeled his game.
“Growing up in that area he was someone that I looked at as a favorite player,” he said. “I always tried to emulate the things that he did and bring that into my game.”
Kevan’s hard work at developing his game has earned him a second-round selection in the NHL Draft. Kevan and his family made the six-hour haul from the small city of Fairfield, California to Los Angeles to hear his name get called at the Draft and getting posted on the NHL Draft Board.
Not bad for a Fairfield kid.
“It was a lot of nerves, a lot of excitement,” he said of the weekend. “Finally hearing my name getting called, especially by an organization like the New Jersey Devils, it was a breath of relief. So much weight came off my shoulders.
“I’m really excited that I finally know which team wants to take a chance on me and develop me in their system. I’m just really excited.”