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Australian Walker signs with NHL champs

3 minute read

Nathan Walker's deal with the Stanley Cup champion St Louis Blues is another major step in the NHL career of the Sydney-raised ice hockey trailblazer.

NATHAN WALKER #79 of the Washington Capitals skates against the New Jersey Devils during a preseason game at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
NATHAN WALKER #79 of the Washington Capitals skates against the New Jersey Devils during a preseason game at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Picture: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

Ice hockey trailblazer Nathan Walker has signed a $1.4 million ($A2m) contract with the NHL champion St Louis Blues.

Walker, a 25-year-old raised in Sydney's south, experienced a Stanley Cup win last year when he was a member of the Washington Capitals.

Walker has signed a two-year contract worth $700,000 ($A1m) a season if he is playing with the Blues.

If he is relegated by the Blues to their second-tier American Hockey League team he will earn $300,000 ($A430,000) each season.

Walker has made history every step of the way in his against-the-odds career that began with his family driving for two hours each way in afternoon peak-hour traffic from the Sutherland Shire to Blacktown in Sydney's west because that was the closest ice rink.

In 2014 he was the first Australian drafted into the NHL and three years later was the first Australian to play an NHL game when he made his debut with the Capitals.

The Blues won their first Stanley Cup last month with a 4-3 finals series success over the Boston Bruins.

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