Wes Walz

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Position	Center
Shoots	Right
Height Weight	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 180 lb (82 kg)
NHL Team F. Teams	Minnesota Wild Detroit Red Wings Calgary Flames Philadelphia Flyers Boston Bruins
Nationality	Canada
Born	May 15, 1970, Calgary, AB, CAN
NHL Draft	57th overall, 1989 Boston Bruins
Pro Career	1991 – present

Wes Walz (born 15 May 1970 in Calgary, Alberta) is a Canadian ice hockey centre who currently plays for the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League.

Walz was drafted by Boston 57th overall in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft. At the time he was playing for the Lethbridge Hurricanes of the Western Hockey League, a team he played 2 seasons for, playing 119 games and scoring 83 goals and 161 assists for 244 points in that span. For the next seven seasons, Walz was a fringe NHLer, playing a good chunk of his time in the American Hockey League. He averaged better than a point-per-game in the AHL, but it never got him a full-time NHL job. He did manage to score a career-high 38 points in 53 games for the Calgary Flames in 1993-94, but in 1996 he left North American Hockey for the Swiss league.

After four seasons in Switzerland, Walz returned to North America by signing a contract with the expansion Minnesota Wild. During training camp for the Wild, Walz displayed an extremely hard work ethic and seemingly unstoppable amount of energy on the ice. Due to his efforts, Wild head coach Jacques Lemaire almost immediately dubbed Walz as his "checker," placing him primarily on the checking line. This was a turning point in Walz's career, as he became not only a full-time NHL player with Minnesota, but also one of the league's best defensive forwards and considered by many as one of the league's premier "ironmen" comparible with players such as Rod Brind'Amour. In his first season back, Walz played all 82 regular season games, scoring 18 goals of which 7 were shorthanded. When the Wild made the playoffs in 2003, Walz was there helping them make it all the way to the semi-finals, scoring 7 goals and 6 assists in 18 games.

Has skated in 534 NHL games in 11 seasons with Boston, Philadelphia, Calgary, Detroit and Minnesota...Owns 232 points (99-133=232) and 307 PIM...Has 40 career multi-point games...Is one of three original members of the Wild remaining with the club (Manny Fernandez, Marian Gaborik).

[edit] See also

[edit] References

2005 NHL Official Guide & Record Book ISBN 0-920445-91-8

Preceded by Scott Pellerin	Minnesota Wild captains December 2000	Succeeded by Brad Bombardir
Preceded by Brian Rolston	Minnesota Wild captains Mar/Apr 2006	Succeeded by Brian Rolston