Johnny Walker’s freshman year went about as well as it could. In his first season of college hockey in 2017-18, Walker scored 17 goals, the second most by any freshman in the country. And eight of those tallies came in five consecutive games to end the campaign.
After the now-sophomore scored in each of Arizona State’s first two games against Alaska-Fairbanks, Walker is now a seven-game goal streak, the longest active streak in Division I hockey.
“I just go out there and try to compete,” Walker said humbly of his scoring run. “It’s definitely not something I’m thinking about going in every night.”
An Arizona native, Walker became one of ASU’s most dangerous forwards of the course of last season, finishing as the team’s leading scorer and breaking the program’s freshman goals record. After scoring in back-to-back games against Yale and Michigan Tech in mid-February, Walker finished the season with three straight two-goal games, including in both contests No. 13 Michigan to end the year. While he downplayed the accomplishment, it’s something his teammates and coaches have been impressed by.
“I think I’ve been more surprised by how open he can find himself,” said Brett Gruber, who plays center on Walker’s line. “He’s got such a good sense of how to and where to get open. Once he gets that puck, it’s always in the net.”
The skill of getting open was one Walker devoted himself to over the summer.
“I worked on a lot of my skating and being able to put myself in positions to score,” Walker said.
Walker’s first goal this weekend on Saturday against Alaska Fairbanks started with a long pass from junior goalie Joey Daccord, who rifled the puck from deep inside ASU’s to Walker waiting on the far blue line.
“Me and Johnny have this chemistry going, it started last year towards the second half of the year,” Daccord said. “I just looked up, I was going to fire it up the boards and get back in the net and then I saw Johnny, classic hanging at the far blue line, going the other way with no one around him so I figured I might as well.”
The stretch pass sprung Walker for a breakaway and he scored with the backhand after making a deke.
“He told me he heard my voice in the back of his head the whole time: I was going to let him know if he didn’t score,” Daccord added, laughing.
“It can’t be overstated how much he does,” coach Greg Powers said. “He’s dangerous every time he’s on the ice.”
Powers described Walker as the type of player to get under the opponent’s skin, someone who you love to have on your team and hate to play against. During Saturday’s postgame, Powers used the word “colorful” to describe the scorer.
Asked about this a day later, following Sunday’s 5-0 ASU win that saw Walker score when the Alaska Fairbanks goalie got caught out of the crease in the third period, Walker smile and responded: “I think coach can be a bit colorful at times.”
Walker continued, saying his antics on the ice — he’s no stranger to the shoving matches that follow many stoppages in play — are by design: “If they’re focused on me, that might draw someone else a little more time and space and I feed off it. I definitely invite a little attention from [the other] team, for sure.”
However, when it comes to his goal streak, Walker remains humble. He cited ASU’s power play, which sees him play at the point, as one of the offense’s strengths so far this season. On Sunday, he assisted on junior forward Tyler Busch’s goal with the man advantage.
“We’re moving the puck around and are finding each other,” Walker said.
With No. 1 ranked Ohio State coming to Tempe this Friday and Saturday, a challenge awaits Walker to continue his streak. The Buckeyes gave up the six fewest goals in the country last season, thanks to goaltender Sean Romeo and a talented group of defenders.
His strategy against the top-ranked team in the country: “Work it down low and try to go to the net.”
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