Nathan Walker
Encyclopedia
Nathan Walker is an Australian
ice hockey
player currently playing for HC Vítkovice Steel of the Czech Extraliga
. Walker, who was born in Wales
, grew up in Australia and first played ice hockey there. He moved to the Czech Republic
in 2007 in order to further his career, and joined the junior program of HC Vítkovice. He first played for the senior team in 2011, becoming the first Australian ice hockey player to play for a professional senior team in Europe. Walker represents Australia internationally, and first played for them at the 2011 IIHF World Championship Division II tournament
, where he helped his team win their group and earn a promotion to Division I for the following year.
Extraliga U18. He continued to play exclusively with the under 18 squad of HC Vitkovice Steel until the 2009–10 season where he joined HC Vitkovice Steel under-20 team who compete in the NOEN Extraliga U20. Following the completion of the 2009–10 in the Czech Republic Walker returned to Australia to briefly play for the Sydney Ice Dogs of the Australian Ice Hockey League
in the 2010 season
. Walker returned to the Czech Republic to continue with both the under-18 and under-20 teams of HC Vitkovice Steel during the 2010–11 season.
After the completion of the 2010–11 season Walker was called up to the Australian men's senior team to compete at the 2011 IIHF World Championship Division II Group A
tournament which was being held in Melbourne
, Australia. Australia won the tournament and Walker finished the tournament with the best plus-minus (+7) and was voted the top player on the Australian team.
On 9 October 2011, Walker suited up for Vítkovice's Extraliga club, making him the first Australian to play professionally in Europe.
. At the age of 2 he moved with is mother, father and elder brother to Sydney
, Australia
. His father Wayne played rugby leading to Nathan playing for the Cronulla Sharks
junior team until the age of 15. His older brother, Ryan, also played hockey representing Australia in the national under-18 squad
.
Besides English
Walker has also learnt to speak Czech
, Slovakian
, and some Russian
during his time in the Czech Republic.
Australian people
Australian people, or simply Australians, are the citizens of Australia. Australia is a multi-ethnic nation, and therefore the term "Australian" is not a racial identifier. Aside from the Indigenous Australian population, nearly all Australians or their ancestors immigrated within the past 230 years...
ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
player currently playing for HC Vítkovice Steel of the Czech Extraliga
Czech Extraliga
The Czech Extraliga is the highest-level ice hockey league in the Czech Republic. As of 2009, it is ranked by the IIHF as the third strongest league in Europe....
. Walker, who was born in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, grew up in Australia and first played ice hockey there. He moved to the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
in 2007 in order to further his career, and joined the junior program of HC Vítkovice. He first played for the senior team in 2011, becoming the first Australian ice hockey player to play for a professional senior team in Europe. Walker represents Australia internationally, and first played for them at the 2011 IIHF World Championship Division II tournament
2011 IIHF World Championship Division II
The 2011 IIHF World Championship Division II were international Ice Hockey tournaments run by the International Ice Hockey Federation. Group A was contested from 4–10 April 2011 in Melbourne, Australia and Group B was contested from 10–16 April 2011 in Zagreb, Croatia...
, where he helped his team win their group and earn a promotion to Division I for the following year.
Playing career
Walker first played ice hockey in 2007 when he joined HC Vitkovice Steel U18 of the CzechCzech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
Extraliga U18. He continued to play exclusively with the under 18 squad of HC Vitkovice Steel until the 2009–10 season where he joined HC Vitkovice Steel under-20 team who compete in the NOEN Extraliga U20. Following the completion of the 2009–10 in the Czech Republic Walker returned to Australia to briefly play for the Sydney Ice Dogs of the Australian Ice Hockey League
Australian Ice Hockey League
The Australian Ice Hockey League is Australia's top-level ice hockey league. It is sanctioned by Ice Hockey Australia and is run by its own Board of Directors....
in the 2010 season
2010 AIHL season
The 2010 AIHL season is the 11th season of the Australian Ice Hockey League . It ran from 24 April 2010 until 22 August 2010, with the Goodall Cup finals following on 28 and 29 August.-League business:...
. Walker returned to the Czech Republic to continue with both the under-18 and under-20 teams of HC Vitkovice Steel during the 2010–11 season.
After the completion of the 2010–11 season Walker was called up to the Australian men's senior team to compete at the 2011 IIHF World Championship Division II Group A
2011 IIHF World Championship Division II
The 2011 IIHF World Championship Division II were international Ice Hockey tournaments run by the International Ice Hockey Federation. Group A was contested from 4–10 April 2011 in Melbourne, Australia and Group B was contested from 10–16 April 2011 in Zagreb, Croatia...
tournament which was being held in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia. Australia won the tournament and Walker finished the tournament with the best plus-minus (+7) and was voted the top player on the Australian team.
On 9 October 2011, Walker suited up for Vítkovice's Extraliga club, making him the first Australian to play professionally in Europe.
Personal life
Walker was born on 7 February 1994 in WalesWales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. At the age of 2 he moved with is mother, father and elder brother to Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. His father Wayne played rugby leading to Nathan playing for the Cronulla Sharks
Cronulla Sharks
The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks are Australian professional Rugby league team based in Cronulla, in the Sutherland Shire, Southern Sydney, New South Wales...
junior team until the age of 15. His older brother, Ryan, also played hockey representing Australia in the national under-18 squad
Australia men's national U-18 ice hockey team
The Australia men's national under-18 ice hockey team is controlled by Ice Hockey Australia and represents Australia in international under-18 ice hockey competitions. Australia plays in Division III of the IIHF World U18 Championships.-History:...
.
Besides English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
Walker has also learnt to speak Czech
Czech language
Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...
, Slovakian
Slovak language
Slovak , is an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages .Slovak is the official language of Slovakia, where it is spoken by 5 million people...
, and some Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
during his time in the Czech Republic.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season Season (sports) In an organized sports league, a season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session. For example, in Major League Baseball, one season lasts approximately from April 1 through October 1; in Association football, it is generally from August until May In an... |
Team | League | GP | G Goal (ice hockey) In ice hockey, a goal is scored when the puck completely crosses the goal line between the two goal posts and below the goal crossbar. A goal awards one point to the team attacking the goal scored upon, regardless of which team the player who actually deflected the puck into the goal belongs to... | A Assist (ice hockey) In ice hockey, an assist is attributed to up to two players of the scoring team who shot, passed or deflected the puck towards the scoring teammate, or touched it in any other way which enabled the goal, meaning that they were "assisting" in the goal. There can be a maximum of two assists per goal... | Pts Point (ice hockey) Point in ice hockey has three official meanings:* A point is awarded to a player for each goal scored or assist earned. The total number of goals plus assists equals total points. In some European leagues, a goal counts as two points, and an assist counts as one... | PIM Penalty (ice hockey) A penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for inappropriate behavior. Most penalties are enforced by detaining the offending player within a penalty box for a set number of minutes, during which, the player can not participate in play. The offending team usually may not replace the player on the ice,... |
GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2007–08 | HC Vitkovice Steel U18 | Czech-U18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | HC Vitkovice Steel U18 | Czech-U18 | 33 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 16 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 2009–10 | HC Vitkovice Steel U18 | Czech-U18 | 28 | 22 | 20 | 42 | 47 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | ||
| 2009–10 | HC Vitkovice Steel U20 | Czech-U20 | 23 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2010 2010 AIHL season The 2010 AIHL season is the 11th season of the Australian Ice Hockey League . It ran from 24 April 2010 until 22 August 2010, with the Goodall Cup finals following on 28 and 29 August.-League business:... |
Sydney Ice Dogs | AIHL Australian Ice Hockey League The Australian Ice Hockey League is Australia's top-level ice hockey league. It is sanctioned by Ice Hockey Australia and is run by its own Board of Directors.... |
4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Czech-U18 | Extraliga U18 | 10 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | HC Vitkovice Steel U20 | Czech-U20 | 35 | 20 | 20 | 40 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| AIHL totals | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
International statistics
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 2011 IIHF World Championship Division II The 2011 IIHF World Championship Division II were international Ice Hockey tournaments run by the International Ice Hockey Federation. Group A was contested from 4–10 April 2011 in Melbourne, Australia and Group B was contested from 10–16 April 2011 in Zagreb, Croatia... |
Australia | WC (Div II) | 4 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 4 | |
| Senior int'l totals | 4 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 4 | |||