Black Book information on Walford
A first round pick of the Victoria Royals at 18th overall in 2014, he was a product of the well-respected
Okanagan Hockey Academy Prep program. He plays big minutes on a solid defensive team in all situations
and was a leader on a playoff team. In 2016-17, Walford recorded 30 points in 60 regular season games.
He is a powerful player that’s capable of big hits and uses his low body well to stay in front of speedy
players, covering substantial ground and can be a physical force in front of the net. Walford is a sturdy
player that is built thick and has good size already. He can play a punishing game along the wall, trapping
236 — 2017 BLACK BOOK TEAM EDITION
players along the boards and beats then down really limiting the cycle against his team. Scott is a solid
skater with good mechanics that changes direction well and shifts his weight from edge to edge in such a
way that he actually appears light on his feet and makes effective pivots that don’t let him get beat east
and west easily, especially for a player of his size. When Walford occasionally carries the puck, he shows off
exceptional power and top-end speed. This skill helps him with the puck and when he is recovering or
backchecking.
Walford hasn’t shown the ability to carry the offensive play, but he can make solid outlet passes. At times
has trouble taking pucks off the wall smoothly and connecting it to a forward on the breakout. He doesn’t
rush up the ice a lot but certainly can assist in the transition game and remain an option for his partner as
he works good on zone entries and knows how control the offensive blueline. We would like to see him a
little more mobile going east west across the offensive blueline, but this doesn’t limit his willingness to
pinch in and he’s tough to stop when driving the net where he shows good instincts and timing. His shot is
the best when he’s stationary and a full slap has good power behind, but he needs to improve his shot
when he’s off balance or in stride.
Scott has proven to be impactful offensively both on the powerplay and at even strength. As the year wore
on, he earned more powerplay time and proved to be a good facilitator of the puck to his skilled forwards.
He is decisive and makes decisions quickly, and makes some occasional tough cross-ice passes. Walford is a
powerful body who can contribute at both ends of the rink. Although he may not develop into a productive
offensive defenseman, his size, skating ability and solid decision making skills make him an intriguing
defensive prospect.
VIC #7 LD Walford, Scott (2017) Showed some tenacious puck pursuit tonight and quick footwork, not
afraid to be mobile around the offensive zone and roam a little as his speed helps him to recover. Fired a
shot on goal in stride gathering his own rebound and using strong edging for a quick wrap around shot that
bounced out front and was fired in; a goal created by his speed. Contributed to all aspects of the game
playing on PP/PK and started in all 3 zones during 5 on 5 play displaying versatility. Moved pucks up the ice
from his own zone with speed and efficiency, was productive through the neutral zone using both quick up
passes and his ability to cut laterally and avoid checkers. Not afraid to keep pace with forwards on the rush
especially when looking to create when his team needs to score. Reverse skating was smooth and he
quickly closed gaps with a physical presence, used his size to his advantage in the defensive end.
VIC #7 LD Walford, Scott (2017)-He played a quiet game until he fired a pass to a teammate right out of the
box for a breakaway goal. As the game wore on, he continued to log minutes and was solid defensively. He
did not make any spectacular plays, but had a good stick and did not get beat in one-on-one situations. His
physical skills including his mobility and puck-handling ability are average.
VIC #7 LD Walford, Scott (2017) Worked as a physical presence to worked attackers toward the wall and
finish checks with authority. Worked a lot against Merkley and did a strong job of taking away his time and
space. Finishing some strong body checks and always looked for an opportunity to push players around,
mostly along the wall nothing really in open ice. Wasn’t afraid to work up ice with the forwards and join the
rush to create offence. When looking send an outlet pass had a few struggles hitting his target in stride and
causing some stalls in transition play
VIC #7 LD Walford, Scott (2017)- He played a conservative game and was wary of his defensive positioning
at all times. He made several good defensive stick plays in the first period. He is a big body and is not
afraid to play physical in his own end. He was not forced to make many plays with the puck in the first half
of the game. When he was, he made simple plays and did not put pucks up the middle. He has an average
stride with the puck but was able to get to the red-line at times to dump pucks in. He did not look
comfortable on the powerplay, seemed as though he just wanted the puck off his stick and did not move
his feet along the blue-line. Without the puck when forced to recover pucks he can move up and down the
ice effectively. He received more icetime once the game turned into a blowout for the Royals.
VIC #7 LD Walford, Scott (2017)-Walford played first powerplay mintues but was not the bonified
quarterback on the unit. He made the short, necessary passes that were required to keep possession and
the puck moving. He showed impressive edge work walking the line on the powerplay with the ability to go
heel to heel and create separation. He had a second assist on the Royal’s first goal on the powerplay.
Walford started to show confidence skating with the puck as the game wore on. He could beat
fore-checkers easily with one or two steps and his acceleration up ice was very impressive. He has a
powerful stride and can generate very good top end speed. Walford also showed good anticipation in the
neutral zone, as he stepped up on a couple occasions to intercept cross-ice passes and push the play the
other way. Walford’s decision making was excellent. He had three second assists in the game, but they were
key plays to set up the goals.
VIC #7 LD Walford, Scott (2017)-Walford’s stride is explosive and he can generate separation easily from
forecheckers. He logged heavy minutes and was looking to head man pucks. He had several stretch passes
that led to rushes. Walford played the top of the umbrella on the first powerplay unit and was effective
facilitating for his unit. He also utilized his one-timer, getting it off quickly. His shot is heavy and he missed
the net on a couple of quality chances. He handled Kailer Yamamoto well on a defensive one-on-one late in
660 — 2017 BLACK BOOK TEAM EDITION
the third, letting him poke the puck through his stick but maintaining body positioning and forcing him to
the outside lane. Walford was a horse in the game, playing in all situations and working hard defensively
and on the penalty kill. He has great reach and finds a way to get his stick in lanes.
VIC #7 LD Walford, Scott (2017) Shows good use of pivots to track and stay with players when defending
guys off the rush and uses his stick to poke and break up plays. Shows power and strength in his legs and
good skating mechanics but lacks some quickness in his first couple steps, which was holding his game
back as his overall defensive game is pretty good but he was struggling to take pucks off the left boards
and make a breakout pass. Was throwing hits most chances he got and finishing with power against the
wall. His offensive game was a little erratic and he took a really wild looking swing on a one-timer that
wasn’t in just the right place, he had trouble adjusting to it. Didn’t have much fluid movement to his offence
works more from a standstill.