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| Daniel Eade, Sunday, 22 September 201, BackPageLead website Nathan Walker will not play in the NHL in 2013/14 after all, but the Australian has signed a one-year deal with the Hershey Bears in the AHL (American Hockey League) and will become the first Aussie to play in the AHL. The Bears are the Washington Capitals' minor league affiliation. Katie Carrera from the Washington Post was first to report on Walker's new deal after Washington Capitals General Manager George McPhee made the announcement. Because Walker is 19 years old and still has draft eligibility for one more year, he cannot sign with a team if he was not drafted under the rules in the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Walker played 29 games with the Youngstown Phantoms during the 2012/13 season, but because he didn't play the full season in the USHL (United States Hockey League), he could not qualify for free-agency. Mike Vogel from the Monumental Network was first to report on Walker's ineligibility to play this season for the Capitals, or any other NHL team. Instead, the Australian will re-enter the NHL draft in 2014. Walker had been a standout through the Capitals' pre-season, scoring two assists in two games. Replays show that his first assist should have been credited as a goal after he deflected the puck off his stick after Jack Hillen shot a line-drive that whizzed past the keeper. |
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Walker's second assist, where he passed the puck through the defender's legs and to Tom Wilson for the goal, made the Sportscenter Top Ten plays of the day. Walker was released from the Capitals Training Camp with four other players as the club trimmed their roster down to 36-players. The Hershey Bears have led the AHL in home attendance for the last seven seasons and - after Training Camp on September 24 - will open their 2013/14 pre-season campaign at home on September 27 against the Utica Comets, before their first opening game of the season on October 5 against the Adirondack Phantoms on home ice. |
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