Wes Walz

[whcanuck]

I was just thinking about Walz. As a Canucks fan, I remember he and Gaborik with Minnesota just terrorizing Vancouver (and giving Colorado fits too) in the '03 playoffs with their speed. Walz was a great skater, strong defensive player and seemed like a great teammate and hard-working player. A real journeyman. What do you guys think of him/remember about him?

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[Canadiens1958]

Ideal Jacques Lemaire player.

 

[a79krgm]

Walz was very well conditioned and worked very hard to comeback after an injury late in his career. He was a prideful man. He quit the team in the early part of the 2007-2008 season after a home game against the Penguins because he thought he could no longer play at the level he wanted to. Coach Lemaire tried to convince him to come back, but he didn't return and later made his retirement official.

For a time he centered a line with Gaborik and Demitra. He said that the two goal scoring dynamos screamed for passes so much of the time that he compared them to 7-eleven. They were always open. (at least in their minds)

 

[GlitchMarner]

In 2002-2003 Walz, Dowd, Laaksonen and Park were among the nine highest scoring forwards for the Wild and the team made the playoffs and reached the third round. That was a memorable comeback the Wild pulled off against Colorado.

Anyway, I like Walz. Solid bottom six player.

 

[blood gin]

Walz was a guy who came back into the league thanks to more expansion in the late 90's. He was a quick, fringy guy who bounced around a few places in the early 90's but could never stick anywhere. He could skate well and pass pretty well but couldn't score goals at this level. He was smallish, not physical, didn't really play much D. When Minnesota came into the league he got a second chance with Lemaire, rededicated himself to tenacious defensive hockey, and became a mainstay

 

[blood gin]

In 2002-2003 Walz, Dowd, Laaksonen and Park were among the nine highest scoring forwards for the Wild and the team made the playoffs and reached the third round. That was a memorable comeback the Wild pulled off against Colorado.

Anyway, I like Walz. Solid bottom six player.

And that Wild team was the Devils on amphetamines. Trap all night and day. Less than 200 goals scored. Super disciplined Lemaire hockey. Full devotion to that system. It was a super young Gaborik as the only top talent and a collection of casteoffs young and old. And casteoff goalies too

Game 7 against Vancouver was super bizarre as well. Down 2-0 they get a goal late in the 2nd to make it 2-1. Then reel off three straight in the third. They had like 16 shots the entire game! They played terribly but Cloutier just let 'em in!

Then they faced off against Anaheim in what is remembered as the poorest quality dead puck era playoff series to ever occur.

 

[Terry Yake]

always thought he had a cool name

remember him from the '03 and '07 playoff series' against the ducks and i recall that he retired suddenly like midway through the season after 07?

 

[Big Phil]

A guy who put up insane numbers in junior. I think he was listed at 5'10" during his career which personally I think he looked smaller than that on the ice. A guy who was more exciting to watch than his numbers suggested, I think.

 

[MS]

Walz was a guy who came back into the league thanks to more expansion in the late 90's. He was a quick, fringy guy who bounced around a few places in the early 90's but could never stick anywhere. He could skate well and pass pretty well but couldn't score goals at this level. He was smallish, not physical, didn't really play much D. When Minnesota came into the league he got a second chance with Lemaire, rededicated himself to tenacious defensive hockey, and became a mainstay

Pretty much this.

He was a high-scoring junior who basically busted as a top-6 skill player in the NHL with Boston/Calgary in the early 1990s and ended up getting flushed out to Europe for about 5 years. Ended up rebuilding his game as a speedy defensive forward and made the most of a 2nd chance with Minnesota at age 30, where he was an ideal fit under Jacques Lemaire.

 

[rfournier103]

The Bruins touted him as the up-and-coming scorer they badly needed in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. Obviously their assessment of him didn’t really pan out.

He fell off my radar after the Bruins traded him. I’m very glad he found some success. Nice guy.

 

[Ceremony]

In a game between the Avalanche and Wild after Andrew Brunette had left the latter to sign for the former he told the press how he managed to get the puck off him by tapping his stick on the ice three times and shouting "Walzie!" Make of that what you will.

 

[Sticks and Pucks]

I think one thing that people forget is that Walz was a great defensive center and was actually a Selke finalist in 02-03.

 

[ESH]

Walz was a guy who came back into the league thanks to more expansion in the late 90's. He was a quick, fringy guy who bounced around a few places in the early 90's but could never stick anywhere. He could skate well and pass pretty well but couldn't score goals at this level. He was smallish, not physical, didn't really play much D. When Minnesota came into the league he got a second chance with Lemaire, rededicated himself to tenacious defensive hockey, and became a mainstay

I've always been under the impression that he was a great defensive forward.

 

[SourTemplePilot]

Fast player and sound position-wise.

Met him a couple of times in Dallas when he was with Flames. Signed 6 cards and was very nice.

 

[JayToad]

He was developed in a lab specifically to play for the Wild.

 

[frisco]

I drafted Dave Chyzowski and Wes Walz in a dynasty-style simulation game as a GM circa 1990 and thought I was set at forward for years to come. Didn't hang on to Walz long enough to enjoy his "second career" as a fast skating, defensive whiz with the Wild under Lemaire but as mentioned in this thread was a bust initially.

My Best-Carey

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

other examples of early 90s busts whose careers were rescued by expansion and became legitimately good role players for a decent amount of years? in the second half of the 90s, you have manny malhotra and dan cleary. but from walz's era? players from the '88-'94 drafts should have been the perfect age to be rescued by the addition of four new teams between '98 and '00.

tyler wright comes to mind, though he was nowhere near as good as walz was for a handful of years in minnesota. drake berehowsky had three years in the bigs in nashville's first three seasons, but i don't know that you would ever call him a role player (or good). would ethan moreau and chad kilger in edmonton count?

 

[lakai17]

that whole Wild team was full of hard workers.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

I've always been under the impression that he was a great defensive forward.

Later on he was, not right away.

 

[AmericanDream]

he came back at the right time - a player who could play the game aggressive and responsible. once the league tightened up, he had a role again in the clutching and grabbing era which is very ironic since he was a prolific scorer in junior.

 

[tarheelhockey]

I thought he was an underrated player in his second life as a defensive anchor. He strikes me as similar to Stephane Yelle or Matt Cullen, well rounded guys you can win with.

 

[ShelbyZ]

other examples of early 90s busts whose careers were rescued by expansion and became legitimately good role players for a decent amount of years? in the second half of the 90s, you have manny malhotra and dan cleary. but from walz's era? players from the '88-'94 drafts should have been the perfect age to be rescued by the addition of four new teams between '98 and '00.

IMO it wasn't expansion that rescued Cleary's career. It was the implementation of the salary cap. He probably doesn't get that opportunity in Detroit if Ken Holland didn't have to hold a PTO/waiver fodder/prospect battle royale during the 2005 training camp in hopes of filling spots #10-13/14 on the teams forward depth chart for as close to league minimum as possible.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

IMO it wasn't expansion that rescued Cleary's career. It was the implementation of the salary cap. He probably doesn't get that opportunity in Detroit if Ken Holland didn't have to hold a PTO/waiver fodder/prospect battle royale during the 2005 training camp in hopes of filling spots #10-13/14 on the teams forward depth chart for as close to league minimum as possible.

an interesting point.

i guess for every million jack skilles, ryan parents, cam barkers, kris beeches that teams audition as fourth liners on top heavy cap teams, there'll be one guy that actually deserves a 3rd, 4th, 5th chance.

 

[ShelbyZ]

an interesting point.

i guess for every million jack skilles, ryan parents, cam barkers, kris beeches that teams audition as fourth liners on top heavy cap teams, there'll be one guy that actually deserves a 3rd, 4th, 5th chance.

I'm sure Cleary, who was 26YO and 8 years removed from being taken 13th overall, was definitely one of those guys that deserved another (3rd or 4th? I think) chance.

However, I do wonder how different his career might have gone had he not landed with the Babcock led Wings. IIRC, Dan Lacouture and Rem Murray were in that camp as well and eventually found NHL jobs, but were out of the league within a couple years.

 

[ShelbyZ]

I actually stumbled upon an interesting tidbit regarding Walz while reading some old Red Wings newspaper articles and figured it fit in this thread.

He signed with the Red Wings in the 1995 offseason, but didn't make the team out of camp. He cleared waivers and went to Adirondack, but left the team in January. He went home and sat out demanding a trade, which prompted the Wings to suspend him until they lifted it after the trade deadline and recalled him for depth. He skated in two games and then went to Europe.

Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan on January 31, 1996 · Page 7

Adirondack center Wes Walz, angry that he hasn't been recalled by the Wings, has asked for a trade. Walz went public with complaints the Wings broke a promise to recall him. "When I signed with the Detroit Red Wings in the summer, it wasn't to play with the Adirondack Red Wings," he said after being named MVP of the AHL All-Star Game in Hershey, Pa. "I'm disappointed with how things turned out with Detroit. They made some promises to me about NHL playing time. I kept my end of the bargain. I thought I had a fantastic training camp, I was a good soldier in Adirondack, but they haven't kept promises." Apparently, Walz was told after training camp he would be recalled within a few weeks. That hasn't happened because the Wings have been relatively free of injuries goalie Kevin Hodson and defenseman Jamie Pushor have been the only recalls and in their one trade acquired another center, Igor Larionov, from San Jose. "I think it was insinuated to him, 'Go down and don't worry, you're going to be back in time,' " said Wings assistant general manager Ken Holland, who is also the GM for Adirondack. "He's not very happy down there. I spend half my days talking to hockey people about Wes Walz, and I'm getting tired of it. I can't even drum up a minor-league deal. I've asked for a minor-league player in return and I can't make a deal. The interest isn't out there that he seems to think is out there."

Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan on March 23, 1996 · Page 10

First, he publicly criticized the Red Wings for breaking a promise to recall him from Adirondack. Then he demanded a trade. Finally, he walked out on the A-Wings in January and went home to Calgary. No wonder Wes Walz is surprised to be in Detroit and on the Red Wings' roster. The Wings, who had suspended Walz after he left Adirondack, recalled him Wednesday to add depth at forward for the playoffs.

"I am a little surprised," Walz said Friday. "I went home and I asked for a trade, I wanted a trade for the longest time. I don't know if it was a combination of teams not interested. I think it's a feather in my cap, because I felt like they didn't want to trade me because they felt I could help their team in the long run. "When the team has confidence in you Wee that, it gives me a lot of confidence. I can't wait to get in the lineup so I can show them what I can do." It will be a few days or a week before Walz plays. He hasn't played since January and, while home in Calgary, skated only two or three times a week with a Tier II junior team. Walz said it will take three or four days to get his skating legs back and, obviously, he'll need some time to get in game shape.

But at least he's where he wants to be. Walz, a free agent last summer, has had second and third thoughts about signing with the Wings in the off-season. "I woke up many a morning in Adirondack and wondered if I should have ever signed here because I did have other opportunities to sign with other teams," he said. "But I wanted to go somewhere where they had an opportunity to win the Stanley Cup. The other teams that were interested were rebuilding. Obviously, it's everybody's dream to play in the National League and have a shot at the Stanley Cup." Walz said the Wings, who assigned him to Adirondack at the start of the season, promised to recall him. "That was definitely one of the things I was told," he said. "You look at it, I'm here now. They said I was back and they kept that part of the deal. I am back. But I thought it would happen sooner than it did. It forced me to go home. I didn't want to go home. Obviously, it was one of the things I felt I had to do. It's going to be forgotten in the next few days. It's over with now."

I wonder if what unfolded that year in Detroit and Adirondack gave him a reputation around the league which dried up NHL interest until Doug Risebrough (who was the Flames GM when Walz played there) started building the Wild's inaugural roster.