Scott Walker

Scott Walker

Type of Inductee: Athlete Year Inducted: 2013 Sport(s): Hockey View PDF
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Cambridge’s Scott Walker played locally for the Cambridge Junior B Winter Hawks and Kitchener Dutchmen before signing with the OHL’s Owen Sound Platers. He then had a stel- lar career in the NHL, playing in more than 800 games as both a defenceman and forward. He was an assistant coach with Canada’s National Junior Team for the 2012 IIHF World Junior Championship Calgary and Edmonton, Alta., and is the head coach of the Guelph Storm of the OHL.

July 19, 1973 –

Scott Walker was one of the most talented hockey players to come out of the city as his lengthy NHL record shows.

It’s an impressive record. During his 17 seasons as a professional hockey player, he played in 829 regular season games in the big league.

He scored 397 points and earned 1,135 minutes in penalties before retiring as a player following the 2009-2010 season.

Walker played Junior B hockey with the Kitchener Dutchmen and Cambridge Winter Hawks before moving up to the OHL’s Owen Sound organization. During that time he suited up for Team Canada on a few occasions for exhibition games.

He gained a well-deserved reputation for his play internationally, always seeming to rise to the occasion.

Because of this, over the years, he was invited to compete in three Ice Hockey World Championships for Canada (1991, 2001 and 2005). In 2001 he was an alternate captain of the team.

Following his time with the Winter Hawks he played for the Owen Sound Platers of the OHL from 1991 to 1993.

His impact with the Platers was immediate. In his first season he scored seven goals and had 38 points in 53 games as the Platers reached the playoffs.

In five playoff games Walker had seven points to lead all Platers in post-season scoring.

In his final year of Junior hockey he finished third in team scoring with 23 goals and 91 points in 57 games, with 110 penalty minutes. In the post season he played in eight playoff games and scored six points.

He was named to the OHL Second All-Star Team in 1993, and later had the distinction of being named a member of the Owen Sound Platers’ MasterCard All-Time Team. In the 1993 NHL entry draft Walker was selected by the Vancouver Canucks in the 5th round, 124th overall.

For the next two seasons Walker played with the Canucks’ AHL aflliates in Hamilton and Syracuse. He made his NHL debut with the Canucks on April 13, 1995 against Edmonton. Days later, on April 17, he got his first NHL point, an assist, during the Canucks 2-2 tie with the Dallas Stars. Overall, Walker played in 11 games with Vancouver, earning an assist and 33 PIM.

walker2Walker remained with the Canucks until the NHL expansion draft in June of 1998, when the Nashville Predators claimed him. There he showed his offensive ability, with 15 goals and 25 assists.

In 2003-04 he scored 25 goals — tops on the team — and added 42 assists to lead the team in offense, a career high. And for the first time, he played in the NHL post-season. But the next year saw the NHL lockout, and he played some games with the Cambridge Hornets and the Dundas Real McCoys of the OHA-Sr. League.

In the off-season of 2006 he was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes, where he played until 2010. He suffered a few concussions during his career and in 2008 he appeared in only 41 games, scoring five goals and 15 points, helping Carolina reach the playoffs. On May 14, 2009, he scored his first career playoff goal, the series clinching overtime goal against the Boston Bruins, helping Carolina reach the Eastern Conference finals. Overall, he appeared in 18 playoff games, scoring one goal and seven points.

In 2009 he was traded to the Washington Capitols where he closed out his career in 2010.

Walker continued in hockey following his retirement, becoming head coach of the OHL’s Guelph Storm in 2010. He was an asistant coach on the gold-medal- winning Canadian team at the 2014 World Junior Hockey Championships, and shortly afterwards, announced his retirement as a coach.

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