Smallish forward, at 5-9, 187, has found his niche in St. Louis after bouncing around first four-plus seasons in professional hockey, is a "tough little booger"
ST. LOUIS -- Jake Neighbours had the perfect description when describing Nathan Walker.
"He's small, but he's a tough little booger," Neighbours said.
That "tough little booger" continues to make a name for himself in St. Louis for the Blues, and he continues to endear himself to this fan base.
It took Walker, 30, nine years to finally get himself a one-way contract where he's paid like an NHL'er, and it's for the league minimum ($775,000). If Blues fans are looking for the bang for the buck, Walker fits the description to a tee.
Thursday night was another example of where someone that can pack as much wallop (5-foot-8, 187 pounds) into every ounce that one's body can bring.
It was evident at the time trailing 201 to the Calgary Flames, losers of four straight, the Blues needed a boost.
Walker recognized it, and he pounced on it. For the second time in as many seasons, defenseman Joel Hanley faced Walker's pit bull-like wrath. A fight at 3:19 of the second period, and Walker got his money's worth.
It was uplifting for his linemates, and it was certainly uplifting for the bench.
"It gets the building going and it's important that you follow that up with a good shift and keep the momentum, keep the crowd into it," Neighbours said. "It's a great job by him getting us going. We were a little stale, a little flat. He brought some energy into the building and into our team."
The Blues took full advantage.
Neighbours was scoring eight seconds later tying the game 2-2. It was the fuel that finally lit the fire.
"He's a high-energy guy," Neighbours said of Walker. "He brings it every single night and brings a lot of emotion and energy to our team. When you see him go out there and do something like that, it gets you going, gets your legs going a little bit more and brings adrenaline up. Guys don't say too much. It's kind of you just continue to play and give a tap on the shin pad or whatever it is. It's obviously big for him to step up and do that.
"... I think it's he wants to scrap with guys more than the other way around. Guys probably undermine him because he's small. ... He knows what he's doing in there. He's good at it."
But is it really that big? Is it really that surprising? Probably not to his teammates, and probably not to those that have watched him in a Blues uniform the past three seasons.
It's no surprise Walker is a fan favorite.
Aussie Aussie Aussie ... Oi Oi Oi.
"It's huge. It's momentum," Blues forward Pavel Buchnevich said. "'Walks', everybody loves him. If you ask anybody on the team, he's the most (liked) guy on the team. He's funny, always great attitude. Just happy for him. He did a great fight, small guy. He brings energy every day. Just happy to see he has success too."
Walker is a fourth line guy, which means he'll be on the ice anywhere normally from 8-12 minutes per night. And when he can chip in the occasional offense (six goals, five assists in 36 games this season), it's just an added bonus.
But he's there to forecheck, battle and bring any kind of energy possible.
"You saw him do that in the Minnesota game here at home," Blues interim coach Drew Bannister said. "He brings a lot of energy. He's a guy that goes out on the ice and does everything he can to help the team succeed and that was another part of the game that I thought he brought a lot of energy to our bench when we needed it. It was a big part of the game for us."
Walker is signed through the 2025-26 season at the league minimum. He's making the most money he's ever earned currently and probably grateful to be doing so. The Blues are sure glad they have him, and when he was recalled from Springfield on New Year's Day, it not only was a new year for him but a new lease on not going back to Springfield.
And that should be a permanent fixture moving forward. Walker has earned it. He's the perfect example of persistence paying off after toiling in the minors most of his career.
Not bad for a guy who's first four contracts were two-way deals.
