Christian Arnold

carnold@GameTimePA.com

HERSHEY - Nathan Walker hails from areas more closely linked with rugby and cricket than with hockey, but the Wales native raised in Australia has made a mark on the ice ever since he began playing the sport at age 6.

Now amid his best season with the Hershey Bears, Walker is trying to become the first Australian to play in the National Hockey League.

But Walker is more focused on his NHL goal than the Australian milestone.

“There’s a bunch of hockey players in the world that make it to the NHL,” Walker said. “I’d just be another guy playing in the sport. I know it would be pretty special and I would be proud of that, but I don’t really look at it that way too much.”

The 22-year-old Australian has traveled the world to make his professional hockey dream come true.

Walker played hockey in Australia until he was 13 years old, when he decided to take a major step and move to the Czech Republic to play. He spent six seasons playing for HC Vitkovice Steel, which allowed him to see more time on the ice.

“Back home you’re not on the ice too often,” he said. Australia only has 30 ice rinks in the entire country. “In Europe, I was on the ice twice a day every day a week.”

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At 18, Walker relocated again to play junior hockey in the United States with the Youngstown Phantoms in Ohio. He played 29 games for the Phantoms in 2013 and recorded 27 points (seven goals, 20 assists) during that span.

That year, Walker was invited to play in the USHL/NHL Top Prospect game. The Washington Capitals invited to him to their development camp that September, and after Walker spent a the 2013-14 season with the Bears, the Capitals drafted him 89th overall in the 2014 NHL Draft.

“I kind of had my fingers crossed that if I was going to be drafted it was going to be by the Capitals,” Walker said.

But the Aussie’s second season in Hershey didn’t go as well as his first. Walker started strong, but “then he kind of plateaued,” according to Bears coach Troy Mann. Walker bounced around between the Bears and the South Carolina Stingrays of the East Coast Hockey League before suffering a season-ending ACL tear in January 2015.

Walker finished the 2014-15 campaign with only four points (one goal, three assists) in 28 AHL games.

Coming off the injury and entering this season, it wasn't clear where Walker’s game would be. He didn’t participate in any on-ice activities during development camp, and Mann wasn’t sure whether he'd need to start Walker in the ECHL.

However, the Bears winger has turned into to a pleasant surprise through 61 games this year. Walker has posted career highs in goals (15), assists (18) and total points (33), and he has developed into a top-six forward in Hershey.

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“We projected him to be a bottom-six type of player in the NHL, and that’s what we want him to be here,” Mann said. “But he’s actually expanded his role now, he’s even seeing some power play time this year. His numbers are very, very good, and right now as we head into mid-March he’s actually on our second line.”

Walker's strong play has helped him gain the attention of one of the franchise’s decision makers. Capitals head coach Barry Trotz told Fox Sports last May that he believes Walker will play in the NHL, adding that he was impressed by the Aussie's play when he attended a Bears game.

Mann said Walker was the best forward on the ice when Trotz was in attendance.

“I think guys like Walker have gotten themselves on the radar,” Mann said. “That’s all you can do. You gotta get on the radar and keep getting better.”

Mann said he's confident that Walker will be in Washington soon enough, but like Walker, he doesn’t believe being the first Aussie to crack an NHL lineup is pushing him any harder.

“If he keeps progressing, I think next year could be a season where we start seeing him in some NHL games,” Mann said. “I think it will be great when it does happen. … I think he’s motivated internally just to play in the NHL. I don’t think it necessarily is because where he comes from.”

Bears' home schedule

If you want a chance to see Nathan Walker on ice in Hershey, here's the Bears' upcoming home schedule at Giant Center.

Sunday: Bears vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, 5 p.m.

March 26: Bears vs. Albany Devils, 7 p.m.

April 8: Bears vs. Bridgeport Sound Tigers, 7 p.m.

April 9: Bears vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, 7 p.m.

April 16: Bears vs. Lehigh Valley Phantoms, 7 p.m

April 17: Bears vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, 5 p.m.