Nathan Walker hands out award at AIHL Finals to cap off busy off-season

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Photo: Phil Taylor

Nathan Walker was on hand at the AIHL Finals Series this past weekend to hand out the Skaters Network Australian Player of the Year Award, capping off a busy off-season back home.

Walker, along with Skaters Network boss Matt Pease, presented the award to Perth Thunder defenceman Rob Haselhurst in a pre-game ceremony on Sunday. The award goes to the player voted the best Australian player during the course of the AIHL season.

Walker also held an open training session on the morning of the Goodall Cup Final, joined by the Melbourne Mustangs’ Matt Armstrong and Melbourne Ice goalie Tom Forrest.


Photo: Hugh Whittle Media

Training with the Sydney Ice Dogs every week while back home, sometimes even mic’d up, Walker also took time out to attend a number of hockey events across the country during his off-season.

In June, he attended the annual Ice Hockey Australia Jamboree in Adelaide, a national hockey development camp for players aged 11 years and under.

Walker was on-hand in June for the annual AIHL Cure Cancer Round, signing autographs and taking photos with Ice Dogs’ fans.



He then travelled to Newcastle in July to present a number of awards at the National Championships, where tournaments for four different age levels were held simultaneously over the course of a week.


Photo: Hockey at IceHQ
 
He also held a youth development camp at IceHQ in Melbourne where he was joined by a number of AIHL stars, as well as a public training session and meet and greet at the O’Brien Icehouse.

Walker will return to St Louis this week to begin training camp for the 2025 NHL season.