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Former Leafs enforcer and advocate for retired NHLers, Kurt Walker, dead at 64
Lance Hornby
Published:
August 18, 2018
Updated:
August 18, 2018 12:15 PM EDT
Kurt Walker, former Toronto Maple Leafs enforcer and advocate for NHL players struggling with retirement, is dead at 64. (dignityafterhockey.ca)
Kurt Walker, who transformed from hard-knuckle Maple Leaf to a compassionate advocate for NHL players struggling with retirement, has passed away.
The 64-year-old Massachusetts native died Friday night after a brief illness. Many players who benefitted from his Dignity After Hockey charity weighed in with tributes, as did those who simply admired him for taking on such a difficult task.
Walker’s efforts began nearly a decade ago with a web page and from there he was able to open doors to affordable health care and later, stem cell research.
Walker and his associates were also heavily involved in concussion research and its affects on retired players. He was often at odds with the NHL and the players alumni association to get more done for ex-players and raise money for the cause.
“When you’re young, you feel invincible,” Walker recently told journalist Josh Kloke. “You think you can do whatever you want and nothing will bother you. I sustained more injuries than most players. But at that age you never think about the ramifications of after the game.”
“I remember getting a few head shots, going to the bench, and the trainer would talk to you and you’d be in a fog,” he recalled. “You’d get a little smelling salt, take a bit of a rest but there was still so much peer pressure.”
Walker played 71 games for Toronto and was part of the rough and tumble playoff series against the Flyers and Islanders in the mid 1970s.
“Gerry McNamara saw a few of (his minor league games) where I acted up and invited me to training camp,” Walker recalled in an interview with ISN last year. “I wanted to play for them my whole life. That’s who I told people I was going to play for when I was 14.”
“My dream was to play 12 to 15 to minutes a night, but I found most of my time I was sitting on the bench getting one or two shifts, he said. “But through all of that, I never forgot what got me there.”
lhornby@postmedia.com
Dignity After Hockey | Hockey CharityDignity After Hockey
http://torontosun.com/news/local-ne...ate-for-retired-nhlers-kurt-walker-dead-at-64
Lance Hornby
Published:
August 18, 2018
Updated:
August 18, 2018 12:15 PM EDT
Kurt Walker, former Toronto Maple Leafs enforcer and advocate for NHL players struggling with retirement, is dead at 64. (dignityafterhockey.ca)
Kurt Walker, who transformed from hard-knuckle Maple Leaf to a compassionate advocate for NHL players struggling with retirement, has passed away.
The 64-year-old Massachusetts native died Friday night after a brief illness. Many players who benefitted from his Dignity After Hockey charity weighed in with tributes, as did those who simply admired him for taking on such a difficult task.
Walker’s efforts began nearly a decade ago with a web page and from there he was able to open doors to affordable health care and later, stem cell research.
Walker and his associates were also heavily involved in concussion research and its affects on retired players. He was often at odds with the NHL and the players alumni association to get more done for ex-players and raise money for the cause.
“When you’re young, you feel invincible,” Walker recently told journalist Josh Kloke. “You think you can do whatever you want and nothing will bother you. I sustained more injuries than most players. But at that age you never think about the ramifications of after the game.”
“I remember getting a few head shots, going to the bench, and the trainer would talk to you and you’d be in a fog,” he recalled. “You’d get a little smelling salt, take a bit of a rest but there was still so much peer pressure.”
Walker played 71 games for Toronto and was part of the rough and tumble playoff series against the Flyers and Islanders in the mid 1970s.
“Gerry McNamara saw a few of (his minor league games) where I acted up and invited me to training camp,” Walker recalled in an interview with ISN last year. “I wanted to play for them my whole life. That’s who I told people I was going to play for when I was 14.”
“My dream was to play 12 to 15 to minutes a night, but I found most of my time I was sitting on the bench getting one or two shifts, he said. “But through all of that, I never forgot what got me there.”
lhornby@postmedia.com
Dignity After Hockey | Hockey CharityDignity After Hockey
http://torontosun.com/news/local-ne...ate-for-retired-nhlers-kurt-walker-dead-at-64
Good on Hayley. I'm sure she will be an important and valuable addition to the team.
Hayley Wickenheiser makes history in Leaf hockey office
The Maple Leafs realized how much impact Hayley Wickenheiser was having as a guest coach at their June prospects camp, how youngsters heeded her advice and the respect she was accorded.
While the idea of her one day breaking into the NHL’s boys club in hockey ops was idle chatter at the time, Kyle Dubas was already formulating a bold move. On Thursday, the 32-year-old Leafs general manager rocked old-school rules and hired the former national women’s team star as assistant director of player development, convinced people will see past gender to her gold medals.
In a further move to make the Leafs’ office more inclusive to females, the club hired Noelle Needham as a regional scout for the U.S. Midwest.
“We’re looking for the best people, period,” Dubas said, though he added “research shows the more diverse your organization, the better your decision making, the better your operation in general. If you’re only hiring white males — and I say this as a white male — you’re probably leaving a lot on the table in terms of where your organization can go, can think, and how it can develop.
“In this case, I thought Hayley was certainly the best candidate because of her expertise in hockey, her experience in being an elite player at every level. At our development camp, getting to know her and talk to her, I just felt the way she thinks about hockey and life could be a massive benefit to player development, our program in general and all players who are in it.”
Wickenheiser, who just turned 40, will be working under Scott Pellerin, who was elevated Thursday to senior director of player development, and director Stephane Robidas, who also was promoted.
More: https://torontosun.com/sports/hocke...kenheiser-makes-history-in-leaf-hockey-office
Hayley Wickenheiser makes history in Leaf hockey office
The Maple Leafs realized how much impact Hayley Wickenheiser was having as a guest coach at their June prospects camp, how youngsters heeded her advice and the respect she was accorded.
While the idea of her one day breaking into the NHL’s boys club in hockey ops was idle chatter at the time, Kyle Dubas was already formulating a bold move. On Thursday, the 32-year-old Leafs general manager rocked old-school rules and hired the former national women’s team star as assistant director of player development, convinced people will see past gender to her gold medals.
In a further move to make the Leafs’ office more inclusive to females, the club hired Noelle Needham as a regional scout for the U.S. Midwest.
“We’re looking for the best people, period,” Dubas said, though he added “research shows the more diverse your organization, the better your decision making, the better your operation in general. If you’re only hiring white males — and I say this as a white male — you’re probably leaving a lot on the table in terms of where your organization can go, can think, and how it can develop.
“In this case, I thought Hayley was certainly the best candidate because of her expertise in hockey, her experience in being an elite player at every level. At our development camp, getting to know her and talk to her, I just felt the way she thinks about hockey and life could be a massive benefit to player development, our program in general and all players who are in it.”
Wickenheiser, who just turned 40, will be working under Scott Pellerin, who was elevated Thursday to senior director of player development, and director Stephane Robidas, who also was promoted.
More: https://torontosun.com/sports/hocke...kenheiser-makes-history-in-leaf-hockey-office
