Nathan Walker - young Aussie prospect

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Norm Smith Medallist
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Oct 18, 2004
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Melbourne
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Adelaide
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Same kid who had an article written about him in The Age this year, isn't it?
 
Would be interesting to know why he chose to live and play his hockey in the Czech Republic. Born in Wales and the Czech Republic being an EU nation I'd imagine.

I do think they're jumping the gun with the headline:

Teenage ice hockey star Nathan Walker set to become first Australian to play in National Hockey League

Sounds like he is about to jump out on the MSG ice next week. :D

Needs a line in the story to say something like, "From over 2,000 players selected in the third round and beyond during 1990s, just 261 made it as NHL career players. That's about 12 percent."

But good luck to him (hopefully he is still growing), would be massive in this country if he was successful.
 

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The closest we have ever had before was a friend of mine back in the day, Damien Holland. He was a goalie and played in Canada for quite a while, whilst also making Australia difficult to beat in D-pool and moving us up the ranks.

Had a few NHL clubs scouting him but he just never quite made it. Is the best player Australia has ever produced though.
 
The iceman cometh:
Barely into his teens, Walker formed an ambition to become the first Australian to appear in North America's National Hockey League, the sport's acme. Precociously, he made his plans. At 13, he said to Kerry: ''I want to go overseas, mum. I want to be training and playing every day of the week. I want to make the NHL. Just get me over there.''

''And we did,'' said Kerry. ''There'' though, was not the US or Canada, which appear to exercise a form of ice hockey protectionism. It was Ostrava, a steel and coal city in the Czech Republic, to play juniors for a team called Vitkovice Steel. ''At 13, we left him there, with a family that didn't speak any English.'' Kerry was filled with heartache and pride. She cried; of course she did.
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At 13, he said to Kerry: ''I want to go overseas, mum. I want to be training and playing every day of the week. I want to make the NHL. Just get me over there.''

''And we did,'' said Kerry. ''There'' though, was not the US or Canada, which appear to exercise a form of ice hockey protectionism.
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Either that or something called "immigration control".

When immigrating to Canada or America you might need a better reason than, "My 13 year old son really likes hockey and wants to play. Don't worry about us we'll be going back to Sydney."
 
TheStinger said:
The closest we have ever had before was a friend of mine back in the day, Damien Holland. He was a goalie and played in Canada for quite a while, whilst also making Australia difficult to beat in D-pool and moving us up the ranks.

Had a few NHL clubs scouting him but he just never quite made it. Is the best player Australia has ever produced though.
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Yeah, Bussy was a real show back in the day. He still plays a bit of inline hockey. His biggest claim to fame is beating Patrick Roy in a practice game at Canadiens training camp.

Storm (Nathan Walker) was a freak talent from an early age. I first saw him play a rep tournament in inline when he was a pudgy little 8 year old. I'm glad to hear he's doing well and hopefully he's got a growth spurt in him, but he's always been a small kid.
 
He's on EuroSport right now. 21 for the white team, scored a goal in the second period.
 
Walker gets a mention in a story about Marty Turco.

Marty Turco’s European Vacation

Canada dominated HC Vitkovice Steel in their tournament opener on Monday, thumping the Czech Republic team 7-1. Turco made 30 saves in the win, but had to suffer the ignominy of being scored on by a 17-year-old Australian. In his defence, however, that Australian was Nathan Walker, who is ranked 6th in the Czech Republic by Central Scouting for the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, meaning he might be the first Australian ever to get drafted in the NHL. Now there’s a story to keep an eye on.
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:D
 
the kid can def play. he was my stand out player in the senior mens aussie team here last year. his work rate set him apart from the rest of the team. good luck to him in the draft. i think tho its a big hill for him to climb but its not impossible.
 

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Just had a look at the mid-term rankings and Nathan is 21st (of 135) in European skaters. 2nd of the Czech based players and 1st of the Czech-JR players.

Listed as 5"9 and 185. So while he's not a big kid, he's got some decent size about him. I haven't seen him play, how are his hands? Doesn't seem to be too small for the NHL so I guess skill and workrate will be what determines it.
 
stay true said:
Just had a look at the mid-term rankings and Nathan is 21st (of 135) in European skaters. 2nd of the Czech based players and 1st of the Czech-JR players.

Listed as 5"9 and 185. So while he's not a big kid, he's got some decent size about him. I haven't seen him play, how are his hands? Doesn't seem to be too small for the NHL so I guess skill and workrate will be what determines it.
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No problem with his work rate. Its his best attribute. And he can play
 
Yep, work rate definitely his strength. He's a little Energizer bunny out there.
 
This is the first that I have heard about this kid. I really hope he can make it in the NHL though, as it would be a huge boost for the popularity of hockey here in Australia.
 
Being involved in the hockey business, and having watched this kid play numerous games with Vitkovice (via video), I can confirm that he is a pretty good player.

He skates well, has some skill, and in hockey terminology, is a very 'gritty' player. He is actually a fun player to watch.

His hockey sense is better than would be expected for a kid who spent a significant portion of his time developing in a non-hockey area.

Somebody asked how he ended up in Czech / Vitkovice. I believe one of his Coaches in Australia was a Czech native, and used his contact back home to secure him a spot with Vitkovice. Walker is now likely the best 1994 player in the Vitkovice system.

His 5.09 will likely be the biggest detriment to him having an NHL career. He plays a style of game where he doesn't avoid contact, and the big bodies and more physical nature of the North American game may be tougher for him to adapt to.

The short term question for him is whether he will choose to continue his career in Europe, or move to the CHL (Canadian Junior Leagues) to become more familiar with the North American game.
 
Theres a very good reason why nathan would have chosen the european route instead of the north american one. Its a known fact that european hockey do a lot more trainings than games. They focus completely on skills and lots of touching the puck. Its a fallacy the the CHL would be better for him. This was highlighted in a 12 page article in the IIHF november 2006 'Ice Times' issue. Many of the the top european stars in the NHL did not play in the CHL. They stayed on in europe and honed thier skills playing against top professionals in Europe before entering the NHL. The article stated that if european players played in the CHL they were moulded into role players. Nathan would be much better to go back to Europe for a couple more years where he would further develop his skills. At present Hockey Canada are sending ten top coaches to Finland to investigate thier development program. Canada are worried thier development is not where it should be. What ever stormy decides i wish him well.
 
Wow, some makeover here...

Walker is currently (or was) at the Caps Development training. He can't sign for them though due to the "Hyka" rule (something in the CBA about if you play in a top European division you can't be picked up as a free-agent). At least they are looking at him though, so has a better chance of getting picked next year. If he plays the whole season at seniors level and posts even average numbers he should be higher than 25 on the scout rankings
 
To be honest, from the chatter around the dev camp it seems the issue of where he should play next year is irrelevant because the biggest problem he faces is his size. Sounds like he did OK and scored a goal or two in the scrimmages, but wasn't highlighted in the media beyond the 'lol Australian' angle.
 
Just bumping this, Walker is now in the USHL with the Youngstown Phantoms. Good start so far, a point in the first four games he's started (2G 2A) including a goal in his first shift!
 
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