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Australian Nathan Walker drafted by Washington Capitals

Roar Pro
29th June, 2014
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It’s the stuff dreams are made of, growing up in the sunshine of Sydney, watching The Mighty Ducks and instantly wanting to play in the NHL.

The Flying V, coach Bombay and goaltender Goldberg, it was the dream of one young Aussie they call ‘Stormy’.

That dream was granted early Sunday morning as Australia’s Nathan Walker was drafted by the Washington Capitals, the first Australian to be drafted in NHL history.

Walker had to wait until the third round of the draft to hear his name called, pick 89 was used as the Capitals traded up with the New York Rangers sending picks 104 and 114 to the big apple.

Words of congratulations rushed through the social media channels as hockey fans across Australia basked in the glory as one of their own had made the big leagues.

Kind of.

Walker although drafted with the 89th pick, doesn’t have a guaranteed contract as do the early picks in the draft class, he will have to impress the Capitals to get the call up and make his NHL debut.

Walker’s life has taken him to different parts of the globe, moving to Australia from Wales aged two, a move to the Czech Republic age 13 to improve his hockey and the USA in 2013 where he would eventually form part of the Hershey Bears in the American Hockey League.

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It’s been a whirlwind trip around the world which has come to this point, and left the speedy winger speechless.

”I am just speechless,” Walker said to The Border Mail.

”I was watching a feed with my parents and a cousin, and they just announced my name at about 1.30am. It was unbelievable. We were doing jumping jacks around the lounge room. The Capitals called me last night and just said they wanted to congratulate me.”

Jumping jacks weren’t just limited to the Walker household as I woke to alerts from other passionate fans to the news, the nation had witness something special and they knew it.

The old guard of Australian hockey had witnessed Walker come through the NSW junior ranks, the younger brigade had watched Walker play for the Australian national team and briefly with the Sydney Ice Dogs in the Australian Ice Hockey League.

While the Walker family celebrated this milestone following all the sacrifices, missed birthdays and Christmas’ together, it was a win for hockey in this country.

Hockey had been played in Australia for 100 years, the NHL was founded in 1917, it’s taken 97 years to get Australia’s first NHL draftee. Prominent hockey analyst dissecting Walker, his career, the country his calls home, it was a long time coming.

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Hopefully it’s not another century for the next Aussie to be named at draft day, the wait for Nathan Walker was long enough.

Well done Stormy.

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