Sammy Walker’s whole hockey career has been spent in or around Minnesota and the Midwest. In fact, he’s spent his whole life in Minnesota. He’s dealt with the snowy cold winters and the rewarding cool summers for the past 25 years of his life. The furthest away he’s lived is just a couple hours down south in Des Moines, Iowa playing for the Minnesota Wild’s American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Iowa Wild.
It was in the middle of his three-and-a-half-hour drive from Des Moines back to Minnesota where he received the news that for the first time in his lifetime, he wouldn’t be playing for a Minnesota team anymore. He wouldn’t be living primarily in his home state for the next couple of months. He would be trading the snowy cold winters for 75-degree weather. For the first time in his career, Walker was traded.
Minnesota Origins
If you think of players that embody the state of Minnesota, there are many you can choose from. Brock Faber who was born and raised in the state and has become a superstar with the Wild is a fan favorite. Nick Bjugstad and Zach Parise are other examples who were born in the Land of 10,000 Lakes and played for the Wild. Walker was bound to be just like them.
Born in Edina, Walker like many others grew up playing hockey. For four years, he played the sport for his high school in Edina even being named captain in his senior year and winning the Minnesota Mr Hockey award, a prestigious accolade that NHL players like Bjugstad and Ryan McDonagh have won.
While Walker spent time in nearby states with the Lincoln Stars and the Sioux City Musketeers, it seemed like his time in the Midwest was coming to an end. He was selected by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2017 NHL Draft with their seventh-round pick.
When choosing where to go to continue his hockey career before turning pro, however, Walker decided to stay in the place he knew best. He committed to the University of Minnesota, joining a prestigious hockey program that has produced many NHL players including multiple on the Utah Hockey Club like Logan Cooley and Bjugstad. In four seasons with the Golden Gophers, Walker had 85 points in 105 games, won multiple awards like Big Ten Freshman of the Year, and was named captain of the team in only his second season. He went on to be the Golden Gophers’ captain for the next three years becoming the first ever player to do so with the university.
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