Jerry Walker (ice hockey)

Jerry Walker (born 1938) is a Canadian retired ice hockey winger who was one of the most prolific goal scorers in NCAA history. He was an All-American in 1961[1] and helped Denver win consecutive national championships.

Jerry Walker
Born 1938 (age 85–86)
Balcarres, Saskatchewan, Canada
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st 2 lb)
Position Winger
Played for University of Denver
Omaha Knights
Jacksonville Rockets
Playing career 1959–1969

Career

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Walker was one of several players who played on the Regina Pats in the mid-1950s to be recruited by their former coach Murray Armstrong to play for the University of Denver. He joined the varsity squad as a sophomore in 1959 and started scoring goals for the Pioneers immediately. He recorded 31 in his first season to lead the team and scored the first goal in Denver's championship victory. Walker became the star of the team the following season when he set numerous program and conference records by scoring 56 goals in 32 games. He was the first player named as the WCHA Most Valuable Player and was first team First Team All-WCHA and an All-American. In the NCAA Tournament Walker was one of the focal points of the offense and led Denver to a second consecutive championship as well as a 30–1–1 record to complete one of the most dominant seasons in NCAA history.

Despite having a year of eligibility remaining, Walker left Denver after 1961 and played professional and senior hockey for the remainder of the decade before retiring in 1969. He was inducted into the Denver Athletic Hall of Fame in 1999.[2] Walker is still regarded as one of, if not the greatest goal-scorers in the history of the Denver Pioneers. Among the Denver Pioneers records he still holds are goals in a season (56), goals per game (1.32), hat-tricks (13), hat-tricks in one season (10), and he held the record for most goals in a season by any WCHA player until 1986.[3]

Career statistics

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    Regular Season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1955–56 Regina Pats WCJHL
1956–57 Regina Pats SJHL 43 18 19 37 14
1959–60 Denver WCHA 34 31 19 50
1960–61 Denver WCHA 32 56 29 85
1961–62 Omaha Knights IHL 45 15 22 37 21
1962–63 Saskatoon Quakers SSHL
1963–64 Yorkton Terriers SSHL
1964–65 Jacksonville Rockets EHL 71 30 36 66 14
1965–66 Yorkton Terriers SSHL 23 22 45
1968–69 Edmonton Monarchs ASHL
NCAA Totals 66 87 48 135

Awards and honors

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Award Year
All-WCHA First Team 1960–61 [4]
AHCA West All-American 1960–61 [1]
NCAA All-Tournament First Team 1961 [5]

References

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  1. ^ a b "1960-1961 All-American Team". The American Hockey Coaches Association. Retrieved 2017-06-21.
  2. ^ "University of Denver Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 1999". Denver Pioneers. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  3. ^ "Denver Hockey 2019 Media Guide" (PDF). Denver Pioneers. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  4. ^ "WCHA All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  5. ^ "NCAA Frozen Four Records" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved 2013-06-19.
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Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Award Created
WCHA Most Valuable Player
1960–61
Succeeded by