Jake Walman

History

2010-11: Jake Walman skated for the Toronto Red Wings bantam team coached by former NHL forward Claude Lemieux. Lemieux, whose son Brendan also skated for the Red Wings, shifted Walman from defense to forward at times due to his lack of size.

2011-12:Walman played forward for the North York Rangers midget minor team in the Greater Toronto league. He scored 10 goals with 12 assists and 18 penalty minutes in 33 games. In four games for the Rangers at the OHL Cup he had 1 assist.

2012-13: Walman shifted back to defense playing for the Toronto Junior Canadiens midget AAA team in the Greater Toronto Hockey League. In 23 games he scored 2 goals with 9 assists and 11 penalty minutes.

2013-14:Walman played for the for the junior A Toronto Junior Canadiens and was named the Ontario Junior Hockey League’s Rookie of the Year and Top Prospect. He scored 7 goals with 26 assists and 87 penalty minutes in 43 games. Walman missed the playoffs due to injury. In January he committed to playing college hockey at Providence in 2014-15. He was selected by Peterborough in the sixth round (112th overall) of the 2014 OHL Priority Draft in April in his third year of draft eligibility. Walman was ranked 47th amongst North American skaters in the Central Scouting final rankings and was selected by St. Louis in the third round (82nd overall) in the 2014 NHL Draft.

2014-15: Walman was one of five players to skate in all 41 games for national champion Providence College in his freshman season. Paired with redshirt senior Mark Adams (BUF) much of the year, he scored 1 goal with 15 assists and was +4 with 44 penalty minutes.  Providence finished second to Boston University in Hockey East, receiving an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament  after falling to New Hampshire in the Hockey East quarterfinals (all three games were, 2-1, with both Friars’ losses coming in overtime). Providence defeated Miami (7-5) and Denver (4-1) to capture the NCAA East regional. After a 4-1 win over Nebraska-Omaha in the Frozen Four semifinal the Friars out-lasted Hockey East rival Boston University, 4-3, in the championship game.

2015-16: Walman was named to the East All-American first team, scoring at a point-per-game pace for Providence College in his sophomore season before suffering a season-ending injury in February.  In 27 games he scored 13 goals with 15 assists and was +4 with 44 penalty minutes. The Friars  were second to Boston College in Hockey East, receiving an at-large bid to the 2016  NCAA Hockey Tournament following a 2-1 triple overtime loss to Massachusetts-Lowell in the Hockey East semifinals. The defending national champions dropped a 2-1, double-overtime loss to the University of Minnesota-Duluth in the opening game of the Northeast Regional.

Talent Analysis

Walman is a raw and undersized but talented prospect. Having played both forward and defense in the past, he is a smooth skating defenseman with some offensive elements to his game. In his first year of college hockey he has made an immediate impression in the lineup for Providence College and should use all or most of his college eligibility to gain experience as an all-around player and improve his muscle mass.

Future

Walman was one of the top offensive defensemen in college hockey with Providence College in 2015-16 before suffering an injury in December that eventually required surgery. He is expected to return to the Friars for his junior year before possibly signing an entry-level deal with St. Louis following the 2016-17 season. In an organization with several, big skilled defensemen Walman projects as a mobile, playmaker with the ability to compliment those players.