After leaving to chase his dream, Walker returns with St. Cloud
Nolan Walker
At 19, Nolan Walker of Anchorage will already see his hockey life come full circle.
After leaving his hometown at age 14 to attend prep school in Indiana and chase his dream in junior hockey, he returns to Alaska next month with St. Cloud State University to face the University of Alaska Fairbanks in the Golden Heart City.
The 5-foot-10 forward joins a St. Cloud team after leading the USHL’s Sioux Falls Stampede in points last season with 21-29—50 totals in 55 games.
After making his college debut Oct. 7 at home, Walker will play his second and third games against UAF on Oct. 12-13.
The former Alaska All Stars skater is fast and fluid with the puck, a pass-first playmaker who put up 65 goals and 89 assists for 154 points in 116 games at the prestigious Culver Military Academy, where he graduated in 2017.
Walker helped Culver Academy advance to the U18 national championship and he was team MVP of the U18 and U16 squads.
He was drafted by the Sioux Falls Stampede as the 57th pick in the fourth round of the 2016 USHL Phase II draft.
“He has tremendous vision and play making ability,” Culver Academy coach Steve Palmer told the St. Cloud Times. “What he’s able to do better than most is be very deceptive with his body. He understands how to get someone leaning one way and go the other way using his edges. His head is always up, looking for plays and he’s doing it all at full speed.”