| Ryan Walter | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Walter in 2011 | |||
| Born | (1958-04-23)April 23, 1958 (age 66) New Westminster,British Columbia, Canada | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) | ||
| Weight | 195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb) | ||
| Position | Centre | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for | Washington Capitals Montreal Canadiens Vancouver Canucks | ||
| National team |  Canada | ||
| NHL draft | 2nd overall,1978 Washington Capitals | ||
| Playing career | 1978–1993 | ||
Ryan William Walter (born April 23, 1958) is a Canadian formerprofessionalice hockeycentre who played 15 seasons in theNational Hockey League. He won the1986 Stanley Cup with theMontreal Canadiens.
He was also anassistant coach with theVancouver Canucks, head coach of the Canadian National Women's hockey team, a hockey broadcaster and president of theAbbotsford Heat of theAmerican Hockey League.
Walter was born inNew Westminster,British Columbia, but grew up inBurnaby,British Columbia. As a youth, he played in the 1971Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with aminor ice hockey team from Burnaby.[1]
Walter was drafted second overall by theWashington Capitals in the1978 NHL Amateur Draft. At the time the Capitals named him as team captain in his second season, he was the youngest player in the history of the NHL to hold that position.
In September 1982, Walter andRick Green were traded to theMontreal Canadiens as part of a six-player blockbuster deal in exchange forBrian Engblom,Doug Jarvis,Rod Langway andCraig Laughlin.[2] Walter's name is engraved on theStanley Cup, which the Canadiens won in1986 though Walter was injured for most of the playoffs. In the1989 Stanley Cup Finals, he scored in the second overtime period of game three to give the Canadiens a 2–1 series lead. However, theCalgary Flames came back to win the series and the Cup. In 1991, he signed as a free agent with theVancouver Canucks, where he played the final two seasons of his career and won theBudweiser NHL Man of the Year Award in 1992. He was known as a tough, hard-working player who was excellent in the face-off circle. Walter also served as vice president of theNHLPA.[3]
From1993–94 until1997–98, he worked forTSN as the network's secondary hockey colour commentator. In this role, he worked on NHL,CHL, andIIHF broadcasts. He worked fiveMemorial Cups, oneWorld Junior Hockey Championship, and fourWorld Hockey Championships. From1996–97 until2001–02, he was thecolour commentator on Vancouver Canucks television broadcasts onBCTV,Rogers Sportsnet andVTV. He also occasionally filled in on radio whenTom Larscheid had football duties. In these roles, he was teamed up with, at various times,Jim Robson,Jim Hughson andJohn Shorthouse.
On June 17, 2008, Walter was named an assistant coach toAlain Vigneault of the Vancouver Canucks. He was relieved of his duties after the 2009–10 season. On September 21, 2010, Walter was named head coach of Canada's women's hockey team which won the gold medal at the2010 Four Nations Cup.
Walter served as the president of theAbbotsford Heat of theAmerican Hockey League, which was the minor-league affiliate of theCalgary Flames from 2011 to 2014.[4][5]
Walter is a motivational speaker, author and leadership expert, using his experiences in hockey to relate to business and success.
Walter also had a cameo appearance in the movieMiracle, playing the referee in the game between the US and USSR in Lake Placid and was hired by Disney to be a hockey expert for the movie. He was also hired as a hockey expert for both seasons ofMaking the Cut: Last Man Standing, a Nike hockey commercial, and played himself on an episode of the Canadian animated television seriesBeing Ian.
Walter and his wife, Jennifer have three sons who are also hockey players. His oldest son,Ben, was drafted by the Boston Bruins and played 24 games in the NHL. Joey played with theLangley Chiefs of theBCHL and theTrinity Western University Spartans, and his other son, Ryan Jr., played for theTWU Titans in 2006-07 and 2007–08 as well as theLiberty University club hockey team.
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1973–74 | Langley Lords | BCHL | 62 | 40 | 62 | 102 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1973–74 | Kamloops Chiefs | WCHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1974–75 | Langley Lords | BCHL | 52 | 32 | 60 | 92 | 111 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1974–75 | Kamloops Chiefs | WCHL | 9 | 8 | 4 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 1975–76 | Kamloops Chiefs | WCHL | 72 | 35 | 49 | 84 | 96 | 12 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 10 | ||
| 1976–77 | Kamloops Chiefs | WCHL | 71 | 41 | 58 | 99 | 100 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 11 | ||
| 1977–78 | Seattle Breakers | WCHL | 62 | 54 | 71 | 125 | 148 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1978–79 | Calgary Wranglers | WHL | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1978–79 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 69 | 28 | 27 | 55 | 70 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1979–80 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 80 | 24 | 42 | 66 | 106 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1980–81 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 80 | 24 | 45 | 69 | 150 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1981–82 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 78 | 38 | 49 | 87 | 142 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1982–83 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 80 | 29 | 46 | 75 | 40 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | ||
| 1983–84 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 73 | 20 | 29 | 49 | 83 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 1984–85 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 72 | 19 | 19 | 38 | 59 | 12 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 13 | ||
| 1985–86 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 69 | 15 | 34 | 49 | 45 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1986–87 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 76 | 23 | 23 | 46 | 34 | 17 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 10 | ||
| 1987–88 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 61 | 13 | 23 | 36 | 39 | 11 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | ||
| 1988–89 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 78 | 14 | 17 | 31 | 48 | 21 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 6 | ||
| 1989–90 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 70 | 8 | 16 | 24 | 59 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 1990–91 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 25 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1991–92 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 67 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 49 | 13 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 | ||
| 1992–93 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 25 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 1,003 | 264 | 382 | 646 | 946 | 113 | 16 | 35 | 51 | 62 | ||||
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Canada | WJC | 6 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 4 | |
| 1979 | Canada | WC | 8 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 4 | |
| 1981 | Canada | WC | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 1982 | Canada | WC | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | |
| Junior totals | 6 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 4 | |||
| Senior totals | 20 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 6 | |||
| Preceded by | Washington Capitals first round draft pick 1978 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Washington Capitals captain 1979–82 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
