{"id":91739,"date":"2019-03-08T10:00:34","date_gmt":"2019-03-08T16:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/?p=91739"},"modified":"2020-08-24T12:36:57","modified_gmt":"2020-08-24T17:36:57","slug":"uscho-game-of-the-week-electrifying-walker-looking-to-lead-gophers-to-big-ten-tournament-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2019\/03\/08\/uscho-game-of-the-week-electrifying-walker-looking-to-lead-gophers-to-big-ten-tournament-success\/","title":{"rendered":"USCHO GAME OF THE WEEK: &#8216;Electrifying&#8217; Walker looking to lead Gophers to Big Ten tournament success"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"ps_captionIns\" aria-describedby=\"caption-ps-captionIns\" style=\"width: 660px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"\/img-show\/I0000zJX6ac3FQMw\"><img decoding=\"async\" title=\"Photo By: photo: Minnesota Athletics\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Walker-Sammy-0233-1.jpg\" alt=\" (photo: Minnesota Athletics)\" width=\"660\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-ps-captionIns\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Minnesota freshman Sammy Walker has posted 10 goals and 24 points in 34 games this season for the Gophers (photo: Minnesota Athletics).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Sammy Walker was a sophomore at Edina (Minn.) High School three years ago when he committed to play hockey at Minnesota.<\/p>\n<p>All 5-foot-9, 135 pounds of him.Sammy Walker was a sophomore at Edina (Minn.) High School three years ago when he committed to play hockey at Minnesota.<\/p>\n<p>All 5-foot-9, 135 pounds of him.<\/p>\n<p>He was the little forward who could fly, and tape measures and scales took a back seat to the trusted eye test when any and all college coaches came for a look.<\/p>\n<p>Walker was certainly on Bob Motzko\u2019s radar at that time. Motzko was well on his way to building nearby St. Cloud State into a national program as its head coach, but when Walker opted for the Gophers it was a case of out of sight, out of mind for Motzko.<\/p>\n<p>Fast forward to this past fall and the Gophers\u2019 first practice of the season. Walker \u2014 now 5-foot-11, 165 pounds \u2014 was beginning his college career after being named Minnesota\u2019s Mr. Hockey as a senior at Edina, a hockey powerhouse. Motzko took the ice for the first time after being named the Gophers\u2019 head coach.<\/p>\n<p>Walker needed no introduction.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen I saw him out there on the ice, I was darn glad he was here,\u201d Motzko said.<\/p>\n<p>Walker\u2019s first regular season of college hockey is complete, and his breakaway speed and obvious elevated skill level often made him conspicuous when he was on the ice. Walker\u2019s 24 points (10 goals, 14 assists) are fourth-best on the team. He also is the leading goal scorer among freshmen in the Big Ten this season.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s an electrifying skater,\u201d Motzko said. \u201cHe can just step away from people. Two strides and he\u2019s gone. But the other thing is that he has a tremendous work ethic. He\u2019s been a catalyst for us on so many nights. [His teammates] are probably sick of watching him because he shows up every game on film.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The offer from the Gophers came after Walker was picked to play for the U.S. in the Five Nations Tournament and also played for the Select 16 team.<\/p>\n<p>He reached 5-9 as a high school sophomore after a bit of a growth spurt; he was 5-6 as a freshman. Family history told him that he would do some catching up as he progressed through high school. Today his body is best described as long and lean. Walker knows he needs to get stronger, but he\u2019s not going to force things.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou want to gain weight but you don\u2019t want to lose that speed,\u201d Walker said. \u201cSo I will keep doing the drills to work on my skating.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Motzko has no doubt that the added strength will come, both due to working out in the offseason and as Walker\u2019s body matures. The biggest impact it will have, Motzko believes, is that it will make him more dangerous as a goal scorer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat added strength will bring some heaviness to his shot,\u201d Motzko said. \u201cHe\u2019s had a lot of opportunities that didn\u2019t turn into goals because of his shot. His best hockey is still to come.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Asked if he has come across anyone who is faster than him, Walker said, \u201cMy brother (Jack).\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jack Walker, 22, played major junior hockey rather than attend college and was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the sixth round in 2016. He currently plays for the ECHL&#8217;s Utah Grizzlies.<\/p>\n<p>Walker\u2019s oldest brother, Ben, 25, also played major junior hockey and played professionally in Europe before deciding to retire from the game.<\/p>\n<p>Playing in the NHL has always been Walker\u2019s dream, and he was thrilled to be selected by Tampa Bay in the seventh round of the 2017 NHL draft. His speed and overall approach to the game could turn him into a steal for the Lightning.<\/p>\n<p>He attended Tampa Bay\u2019s prospect camp last year and will do so again this summer. In the meantime, Walker isn\u2019t ready to put an end to his freshman season. Happy with his individual play this season, while acknowledging that the Gophers\u2019 season has had its highs and lows, believes the team is moving in the right direction with the Big Ten Tournament next up.<\/p>\n<p>The Gophers (16-15-4 overall, 11-10-3 Big Ten) are the No. 3 seed and host No. 6 Michigan (13-14-7, 9-10-5) for the best-of-three series that begins on Friday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe know we have to win out,\u201d Walker said of the Gophers\u2019 hopes for making the NCAA tournament field of 16. \u201cI think we\u2019re ready and will be up to the challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sammy Walker was a sophomore at Edina High School three years ago when he committed to play hockey at Minnesota &#8211; all 5-foot-9, 135 pounds of him (photo: Minnesota Athletics).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":120,"featured_media":91740,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[935],"tags":[812],"coauthors":[901],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.4 - 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