Nathan Walker excited by growth of ice hockey in Australia after Melbourne camps

NHL star Nathan Walker sees a bright future for ice hockey in Australia after a series of camps in Melbourne and hopes to wear the green and gold again.

Nathan Walker in action for St. Louis Blues.

Nathan Walker has blazed a trail for Australian ice hockey.

The hockey pioneer, in Melbourne for a series of camps this month, believes the country is waking up to the fast-paced, big-hitting sport.

Ever increasing exposure to the NHL, where Walker plays for the St Louis Blues, has seen a new wave of fans and potential players.

Walker has been surprised by the level of skill and engagement shown during camps at O’Brien Icehouse and IceHQ this month.

More than 150 kids turned out just to watch him train and for a Q&A afterwards this week.

“We had a great turnout, the kids were really inquisitive,” Walker said.

Nathan Walker in action for St. Louis Blues against Edmonton Oilers.

“It was good to see so many kids be interested and the skill level on the kids, I was quite surprised, they were really good.

“I’ve definitely seen a growth in (ice hockey).

“The amount of kids too, when you bring in more kids to play there’s going to be better talent come out of it.

“Running the camps you could see how many kids wanted to get better and wanted to learn and have fun at the same time.

“Hopefully, my track and my story can inspire the next player to play (in the NHL).”

Walker became the first Australian to play in the NHL in 2017, going on to lift the Stanley Cup with the Washington Capitals in 2018.

Now in St Louis, Walker played 45 games last season, scoring seven goals, providing six assists and taking 18 penalty minutes.

Ice Hockey Australia certainly hopes Walker will return to Melbourne again next year.

The city will host the IIHF Division 2B World Championships and Walker would be a potentially goal-medal winning inclusion.

The speedy winger was part of Australia’s championship-winning squad in 2011, in Melbourne, but hasn’t worn the green and gold since 2012.

“If the stars align and that happens then that would be great,” he said.

“If we’re in the (NHL) playoffs then that won’t be happening unfortunately, so we’ll have to see how it plays out.

“We had a good team back then and there will be a good team coming in next year, so I expect Australia to win gold again.

For now, the Sydney-native will spend a couple of more months in Australia before heading back to the US for pre-season training.

Walker signed a two-year deal with St Louis last season worth $1.5 million.

He hopes he can keep charting a path for future players with Australia’s junior talent showing some promising signs.

Last year the under-18 women’s team and under-20 men’s team both won gold in their divisions, while the under-15 girls competed in the Youth Winter Olympics for the first time in South Korea.

Improving access to facilities is key to the sport’s continued growth.

“Rinks like Icehouse and IceHQ do a great job brining in kids who want to play hockey and learn how to play hockey,” he said.

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“The goal in Australia is to have as many rinks as footy fields, that would be amazing, but the reality is we’re more a footy-driven country.

“If we can find the power to get more rink around the country then I definitely think hockey will grow.

“If we can get the TV channels to film some games that would give more exposure to the game as well, which could bring in 10, 20, 30 kids and you’re growing the game that way.

“Hopefully one day we can see ourselves rise in the hockey world.”

Originally published as Nathan Walker excited by growth of ice hockey in Australia after Melbourne camps