Wes Walz
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Position | Centre |
| Shoots | Right |
| Height Weight |
5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 180 lb (82 kg/12 st 12 lb) |
| Pro clubs | 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 – 2007 |
Wes Walz (born 15 May 1970 in Calgary, Alberta) is a retired Canadian ice hockey centre who last played for the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League.
Walz skated in 607 NHL games in 11 seasons with Boston, Philadelphia, Calgary, Detroit and Minnesota. He had 260 points (109 goals, 151 assists) and 343 PIM and earned 40 career multi-point games.
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" comparable 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.
On November 1, 2007, Walz left the team due to personal reasons. On November 8, 2007, he was granted an indefinite leave of absence by the Wild.[1]
On December 1, 2007, The Minnesota Wild held a press conference where Walz announced his retirement.[2] Walz retired as the franchise's leader in all-time games played. Now in second behind Marion Gaborik His retirement left Marian Gaborik as the only player left from the Wild's inaugural season in 2000–01. Wes Walz is known for taking repetitive shots on net.
[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 |
