The offensive defenseman signed a five-year deal with Carolina.
The Carolina Hurricanes signed defenseman Sean Walker to a five-year, $3.6 million AAV deal at the opening of free agency.
The 29-year-old blueliner is a smooth skater and is coming off of his best offensive season yet, having had 10 goals and 29 points last season split between the Philadelphia Flyers and Colorado Avalanche.
After signing, Walker spoke with the Carolina media. Here's what he had to say:
On why he chose to sign with Carolina: I think this style of play is really gonna fit what I can bring to a team. Aggressive, fast, the D are always up in the play and I think that's something that I have in my game. So when the opportunity arose, I thought it was a great opportunity for me and what a place to come play and the team is so competitive. Really looking forward to not playing against all those guys anymore. I think it's going to be a great fit and I'm really excited.
On his path through hockey: It's definitely probably one of the more unconventional paths to the NHL. I played for the Hurricanes near my hometown in Junior-A, I was undrafted to the OHL out of minor hockey so I actually went and played a year in Junior-C as well before that. So I did Junior-C, Junior-A, was lucky enough to do well and get a scholarship to Bowling Green, never had any real interests from NHL teams and then had a pretty good Junior year, went to an advisor to kind of help me out and had a good Senior year and then was luckily able to connect with some BG alumni in Rob Blake and Nelson Emerson in LA and they gave me an opportunity in the minors over there. Again, it was a great fit for me there with lots of opportunity at the time and I kind of took it and ran with it and then was given the opportunity to make the jump to the NHL level. I got to learn and be around such great players that had won and really helped me develop into the person and player I am now. It was a little whirlwind there and then some injuries and stuff came up, some people took some ice time and then the trade to Philly was really the second chance for me to show the league that I could still play and be effective. It was a really great opportunity and I was really thankful for that.
On the perception of the Hurricanes' organization from the outside: Obviously the organization has a winning history and I think it's always been a really, really tough team to play against for me. I think everyone around the league knows how good the team is and they're going to have a chance to win every year I think. Like I said, I'm really exited to be on the other side of it now and help the team win as best I can and hopefully we go on a run next year.
On how his game fits the system: I think I'm a pretty good skater and definitely offensively minded. I know from playing against Carolina that they're always trying to score as many goals as possible and you really notice that. I think that's something that I can bring to the team as well, but at the same time, I feel like I've really grown with my defensive game. Definitely was trusted a lot more this year and I think that helped me grow and be more reliable on the backend for sure.
On if he knows anybody on the team already: Just Brendan [Lemieux]. So we're going to have to reconnect and I'm going to give him a call here soon in the next couple of days to get me all the inside scoop, but I've heard nothing but great things about everybody there. Jaccob Slavin, we have the same agent, so again I've just heard amazing things about everybody. I think it's going to be a great fit, so I'm really looking forward to getting down there and building relationships with everybody.
On the challenges of adapting to a new system: There's obviously going to be some learning and I've been talking with the coaching staff over the last two days already, so that's something that we'll go over and get the video down. There is going to be a little transition period, I'm sure, but hopefully not too much. I like to think of myself as pretty coachable and a quick learner so I think I can step in and hopefully it's seamless, but again, there's such good players around there that will be able to help me and the coaching staff seems unbelievable as well so if I have any questions, I feel like it should be an easy pivot and I'm looking forward to the challenge for sure.
On being able to acclimate to a new team quickly: Obviously I was lucky enough to be with LA for five years there so I hadn't really gone through that before, but I had a great experience both times I was moved this year. When I went to Philly at first, the team welcomed me and it was really seamless and they gave me a great opportunity to play there as well and then again, when I got traded to Colorado, everyone was just so nice and they made you feel welcome right away and I think we do have the best kind of athletes and everyone's such good people that they make that transition so, so easy for everybody. So me and my wife are both really excited to meet the group and everybody and like I said, I think my style of play fits the group as well so I hope the transition is as easy as possible.
On the chance to play for Rod Brind'Amour: We chatted yesterday already and I think immediately I was ready to get down to Carolina and get things started. Again, you just hear nothing but good things and how the players will do anything for him and their teammates. I'm really excited for the culture that's been built there and the team just seems so close. Again, I think it's going to be a great fit and I'm excited to be on a team that has a chance to win. So it's going to be a really exciting year and I'm really exited and happy to be coming.
