| Ben Walter | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Born | (1984-05-11)May 11, 1984 (age 40) Beaconsfield,Quebec, Canada | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) | ||
| Weight | 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb) | ||
| Position | Centre | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for | Boston Bruins New York Islanders New Jersey Devils Örebro HK Jokerit EC Red Bull Salzburg Nippon Paper Cranes EC VSV | ||
| NHL draft | 160th overall,2004 Boston Bruins | ||
| Playing career | 2005–2018 | ||
Ben James Walter (born May 11, 1984) is aCanadian former professionalice hockeycentre. He most recently played withEC VSV in theAustrian Hockey League (EBEL). He has previously played in theNational Hockey League and is the son of former NHL playerRyan Walter.
Walter first played junior hockey with theLangley Hornets in theBritish Columbia Hockey League for two seasons before he committed to play collegiate hockey with theUniversity of Massachusetts Lowell in the NCAAHockey East. An offensively-minded center, he finished second on the River Hawks in scoring as a sophomore in 2003–04 and was consequently drafted 160th overall in the2004 NHL Entry Draft by theBoston Bruins. The ensuing season, Walter then co-led the River Hawks with 39 points in 34 games as a junior. Posting 3 hat-tricks throughout the season, Walter also led the Hockey East with 26 goals to be selected to the Hockey East Second All-Star team and earning a nomination as aHobey Baker Award finalist.[1]
Walter did not return for his senior year when he signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Bruins on August 31, 2005.[2] He was among the final cuts of the Boston Bruins training camp for opening night roster for2005–06 and started his first professional season withAmerican Hockey League affiliate, theProvidence Bruins.[3] On the turn of the year Walter was recalled from Providence and made his NHL debut with the Bruins against theLos Angeles Kings on January 12, 2006.[4] He went scoreless in 6 games with Boston before finishing his first season by scoring 40 points in 62 games with Providence. In the following2006–07 season, Walter failed to find a role within Boston's line-up and appeared in only 4 games with the Bruins for the year. He spent the majority of the season with Providence and posted 67 points in 73 games to place second on the team in scoring and was named Providence Most Valuable Player to end the season.[5]
On September 11, 2007, Walter was traded by the Bruins, along with a conditional second-round pick to theNew York Islanders forPetteri Nokelainen.[6] For the2007–08 season, Ben was initially assigned to the Islanders AHL affiliate, theBridgeport Sound Tigers before he played his first game for New York against thePittsburgh Penguins in coachAl Arbour's 1,500th honorary NHL game for the Islanders on November 3, 2007.[7] On March 11, 2008, Walter finally scored his first NHL goal (and point) againstKarri Ramo and theTampa Bay Lightning.[8] In his three brief recalls to the Islanders he totaled only 8 games, however, he figured in a more prominent role to finish second on the Sound Tigers with 20 goals and 66 points. After the season Walter re-signed with the Islanders for an additional year in which he again was an influential player with the Sound Tigers in2008–09.[9] In 65 games with Bridgeport he matched his previous season tally with 20 goals and scored 50 points while also appearing in a further four games with the Islanders.
On June 30, 2009, he was traded by the Islanders to theNew Jersey Devils for Long Islander,Tony Romano.[10] After agreeing to a one-year deal with the Devils, Walter returned to his UMass Lowell roots when he was assigned to AHL affiliate, theLowell Devils to start the2009–10 season.[11][12] Ben was leading Lowell in scoring after 45 games before on January 22, 2010, he was recalled to New Jersey to make his Devils debut against theMontreal Canadiens.[13] He went scoreless in 2 games with the Devils before he was returned to Lowell to finish the year as top scorer with 22 goals and 58 points in 78 games to help Lowell reach the playoffs for the first and only time in franchise history.
On July 7, 2010, Walter signed as a free agent to a one-year contract with theColorado Avalanche.[14] During the2010–11 pre-season, following the Avalanche's training camp, Walter was reassigned to AHL affiliate, the Lake Erie Monsters, to start the year.[15] Walter led the Monsters in scoring with 70 points and in turn helped the Monsters qualify for their first post-season berth.
On July 2, 2011, Walter signed a two-year deal as a free agent with theCalgary Flames. He was later reassigned to AHL affiliate, theAbbotsford Heat to start the2011–12 season. In two seasons with the Flames organization, Walter remained as an offensive leader in Abbotsford.
After the conclusion of the2012–13 with the Heat, Walter was signed to his first contract abroad as a free agent, agreeing to a one-year deal withÖrebro HK of theSwedish Hockey League on May 25, 2013.[16] In the2013–14 season, Walter struggled to transition to the Swedish league, posting just 2 goals in 35 games with Örebro before accepting a mid-season transfer to theFinnishLiiga withJokerit on December 29, 2013.[17]
In the off-season, Walter joined his third European club in short succession, in agreeing to a one-year deal with Austrian club,EC Red Bull Salzburg of theEBEL on August 5, 2014.[18] During his two-year tenure in Salzburg, Walter contributed to the Red Bull's success in claiming back-to-back championships.
At the conclusion of his contract, Walter opted for a new venture, signing a one-year deal withJapanese based club,Nippon Paper Cranes of theAsia League on August 6, 2016.[19] In the2016–17 season, Walter added 12 goals and 39 points to the Paper Cranes offense.
On July 15, 2017, Walter returned to Austria in agreeing to a one-year deal with EC VSV of the EBEL.[20]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2000–01 | Langley Hornets | BCHL | 50 | 8 | 22 | 30 | 19 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | Langley Hornets | BCHL | 50 | 29 | 47 | 76 | 29 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | University of Massachusetts Lowell | HE | 35 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | University of Massachusetts Lowell | HE | 36 | 18 | 16 | 34 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | University of Massachusetts Lowell | HE | 36 | 26 | 13 | 39 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Providence Bruins | AHL | 62 | 16 | 24 | 40 | 33 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 2005–06 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Providence Bruins | AHL | 73 | 24 | 43 | 67 | 58 | 13 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 6 | ||
| 2006–07 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Bridgeport Sound Tigers | AHL | 68 | 20 | 46 | 66 | 31 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | New York Islanders | NHL | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Bridgeport Sound Tigers | AHL | 65 | 20 | 30 | 50 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | ||
| 2008–09 | New York Islanders | NHL | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Lowell Devils | AHL | 78 | 22 | 36 | 58 | 26 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 2009–10 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Lake Erie Monsters | AHL | 77 | 23 | 47 | 70 | 24 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 | ||
| 2011–12 | Abbotsford Heat | AHL | 75 | 19 | 40 | 59 | 30 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 2 | ||
| 2012–13 | Abbotsford Heat | AHL | 68 | 15 | 34 | 49 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Örebro HK | SHL | 35 | 2 | 13 | 15 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Jokerit | Liiga | 23 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2014–15 | EC Red Bull Salzburg | AUT | 50 | 13 | 30 | 43 | 12 | 13 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 6 | ||
| 2015–16 | EC Red Bull Salzburg | AUT | 41 | 5 | 13 | 18 | 22 | 16 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 0 | ||
| 2016–17 | Nippon Paper Cranes | ALH | 48 | 12 | 27 | 39 | 40 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 2017–18 | EC VSV | AUT | 43 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| AHL totals | 566 | 159 | 301 | 460 | 230 | 41 | 12 | 18 | 30 | 18 | ||||
| NHL totals | 24 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| AUT totals | 134 | 22 | 50 | 72 | 56 | 29 | 7 | 13 | 20 | 6 | ||||
| Award | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| College | ||
| All-Hockey EastSecond Team | 2004–05 | [21] |