LAS VEGAS, NV - JUNE 07: Nathan Walker #79 of the Washington Capitals hoists the Stanley Cup after Game Five of the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Final between the Washington Capitals and the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena on June 7, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Capitals defeated the Golden Knights 4-3 to win the Stanley Cup Final Series 4-1. (Photo by Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images)

The inspiring story of Australian center Nathan Walker will eventually be looked back on as the starting point of ice hockey’s true internationalization

Players like Nathan Walker of the Washington Capitals are what makes hockey great. It’s the fastest, most exciting, and most unpredictable sport in the world. A lot of people have analyzed what makes a game of hockey so exciting. It combines the best elements of so many other sports. For example, hockey is similar to soccer. Both sports have two teams both involve trying to score in the nets.

Hockey, however, is faster, it generally has more goals and people aren’t slapping themselves with someone else’s hand for a chance at a free kick. This is how hockey improves on the better qualities of soccer.

It also features the physicality of sports like football and rugby. In short, hockey is terrific. Unfortunately, the international stereotype of ice hockey is that it is just for countries with cold climates.

To an extent, this is true. It is very hard for children to get into a sport that they can’t play outside, and one that also requires lots of equipment. However, players like Walker, who is Australian, are changing things.

Who is Nathan Walker?

If you don’t follow NHL news closely and you’re not a fan of the Capitals or Oilers, you may not know who I am talking about. Walker was born in Wales and raised in Australia. Dominating his local leagues, he eventually secured an opportunity to play in the Czech Republic.

After Walker impressed with their AHL affiliate Hershey Bears, the Capitals selected him 89th overall at the 2014 draft, making him the first Australian ever to be selected. After four seasons in the AHL and ECHL, Walker was called up to the Capitals this season, where he scored a goal in his first game.

He was eventually placed on waivers, where he was claimed by the Oilers. After two games with Edmonton, he was placed on waivers again and re-claimed by the Capitals. Walker played a single game with the Caps in the playoffs, picking up a crucial assist against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 6 of the second round.

Unfortunately, he did not play enough games to ensure his name will be on the Stanley Cup. But since the Capitals are allowed to petition to have names added, it’s likely Walker’s name will be etched in history.

This is absolutely spectacular. Hockey is a wonderful sport and the NHL needs to put a lot more effort into expanding its reaches internationally. Once someone like Walker plays in the NHL, a boundary has already been removed.

A single player from a non-traditional hockey market can change the sport in that country forever. Heck, it could change the sport internationally forever. Walker isn’t Sidney Crosby, but he might as well be him to the rest of the world.

This is exactly how countries are introduced to foreign sports – inspiring stories. Walker is an inspiring story. He didn’t let a lack of a hockey culture in his own country keep him back, and that is the moral of the story.

In the current state of the NHL, we are seeing one or two draftees from non-traditional markets every year now. At the most recent draft, Liam Kirk of the UK was selected 189th by the Arizona Coyotes.

At the 2017 draft, Alexandre Texier of France was selected 45th overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets. Even in 2016, Wouter Peeters of Belgium was selected 83rd by the Chicago Blackhawks. These are small steps, obviously, but they have a significance.

The Future of Hockey

In terms of how many countries participate in it, hockey is already fairly international. Canada, the US, Russia, Czech Republic, Slovakia and most Baltic countries feature competitive hockey teams. However, I think that it’s time for hockey to begin to reach out more into international markets.

Players like Nathan Walker show that there is at least some desire for a new sport, internationally. We should be doing everything we can to make hockey that sport. It certainly won’t be easy, but it would be close-minded and overly pessimistic to write it off as an impossibility.

Wouldn’t it be great if the IIHF were anywhere near as international and competitive as FIFA? Imagine the angry monologues explaining how hockey does not have the same pure playability as soccer. Sadly, that’s the truth.

However, hockey has more potential as a worldwide sport than people give it credit for. Walker grew up in a country where the average winter temperature is 15 °C/59°F. If that’s possible, then anything is possible.

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When we see NHL hockey players from Australia and the UK and Belgium, I don’t see why we can’t make efforts to expand hockey itself.