Mike Walton
Mike Walton | |||
---|---|---|---|
![]() at St. Michael's College, c. 1962 | |||
Born |
Kirkland Lake, Ontario, Canada | January 3, 1945||
Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) | ||
Weight | 175 lb (79 kg; 12 st 7 lb) | ||
Position | Centre | ||
Shot | Left | ||
Played for | |||
National team |
![]() | ||
Playing career | 1965–1980 |
Michael Robert Walton (born January 3, 1945) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Walton played forward in the National Hockey League (NHL) and World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1965 until 1979.
Early years
Walton was born in Kirkland Lake, Ontario, but his family lived a transient existence during his youth before settling north of Toronto, Ontario. They operated a restaurant/garage in Sutton, about 50 kilometres (31 mi) north of the city. He inherited his nickname "Shakey" from his father, Bob Walton, who would shake his head to throw off opponents as a hockey player in England.[citation needed]
He spent each of his first two years of
Playing career
Toronto Maple Leafs
He became a part of the
Walton made his Leafs debut in
His time with the Leafs was marred by constant conflict with head coach
Boston Bruins
Walton was traded by Toronto to the
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/51/Orr-Walton_Sports_Camp.png/220px-Orr-Walton_Sports_Camp.png)
Walton blended in well with the Bruins' prolific scorers led by Phil Esposito and Bobby Orr, his business partner at the time with the Orr-Walton Sports Camp in Orillia, Ontario. He became a part of his second Championship when the Bruins defeated the New York Rangers in the 1972 Finals.[citation needed]
He was injured in a bizarre accident in the middle of the
Minnesota Fighting Saints
The upstart World Hockey Association, attempting to lure talent away from the established league, conducted its General Player Draft on February 12, 1972 to evenly distribute amongst its franchises NHL players with expiring contracts. Even though still under contract with the Bruins, Walton was selected by the Los Angeles Sharks. His WHA rights were traded in June 1973 to the Minnesota Fighting Saints, who succeeded in signing him to a three-year deal worth $450,000.[citation needed]
He made an immediate impact as the WHA's leading scorer with a career-high 117 points (57 goals, 60 assists) in 1973–74.[6] He continued as the team's top scorer for the next two seasons, but left the team on Feb. 25, 1976, three days before financial problems forced the Fighting Saints to cease operations.[citation needed]
He also played for
Later career
Walton returned to the NHL to finish his 1975–76 campaign, but it was not with the Bruins. Two years earlier on February 7, 1974, they had traded his NHL rights, along with Chris Oddleifson and Fred O'Donnell, to the Vancouver Canucks for Bobby Schmautz. Even though his 66 points (29 goals, 37 assists) in 1977–78 led the Canucks and were the best numbers in his NHL career,[8] he was still dealt to the St. Louis Blues on June 12, 1978. His subsequent season was split between the Blues, Bruins, Chicago Black Hawks and the latter two's AHL affiliates. His final year of professional hockey in 1979–80 was spent with Kölner EC of the Eishockey-Bundesliga in West Germany.[citation needed]
Personal life
Walton is married to Candace, and has three daughters: Connie, JJ and Michelle.[9] Since his retirement from professional hockey, Walton has worked as a
Awards
- 1964 J. Ross Robertson Cup Championship (OHA) – Toronto Marlboros
- 1964 Memorial Cup Championship – Toronto Marlboros
- 1965 Ken McKenzie Trophy (Rookie of the Year – CPHL) – Tulsa Oilers
- 1966 Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award (Rookie of the Year – AHL) – Rochester Americans
- 1966 Calder Cup Championship (AHL) – Rochester Americans
- 1967 Stanley Cup Championship – Toronto Maple Leafs
- 1968 NHL All Star– Toronto Maple Leafs
- 1972 Stanley Cup Championship – Boston Bruins
- 1974 Bill Hunter Trophy (Scoring Leader – WHA) – Minnesota Fighting Saints
- 2010 Inaugural member of the World Hockey Association Hall of Fame[12]
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
Regular season
|
Playoffs | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
1961–62
|
St. Michael's Majors
|
OHA-Jr. | 26 | 13 | 11 | 24 | 12 | 12 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 10 | ||
1961–62 | St. Michael's Majors | MC | — | — | — | — | — | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
1962–63 | Neil McNeil Maroons
|
MetJHL | 38 | 22 | 22 | 44 | 32 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 10 | ||
1962–63 | Neil McNeil Maroons | MC | — | — | — | — | — | 6 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 13 | ||
1963–64
|
Toronto Marlboros | OHA-Jr. | 53 | 41 | 51 | 92 | 62 | 9 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 6 | ||
1963–64 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1963–64 | Toronto Marlboros | MC | — | — | — | — | — | 12 | 6 | 20 | 26 | 11 | ||
1964–65 | Tulsa Oilers
|
CPHL
|
68 | 40 | 44 | 84 | 86 | 12 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 16 | ||
1965–66 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1965–66 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 68 | 35 | 51 | 86 | 67 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 12 | 43 | ||
1966–67 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 31 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 13 | 12 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 2 | ||
1966–67 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 36 | 19 | 33 | 52 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1967–68 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 73 | 30 | 29 | 59 | 48 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1968–69 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 66 | 22 | 21 | 43 | 34 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
1969–70 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 58 | 21 | 34 | 55 | 68 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1970–71 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 23 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 21 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1970–71 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 22 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 19 | ||
1971–72 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 76 | 28 | 28 | 56 | 45 | 15 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 13 | ||
1972–73 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 56 | 25 | 22 | 47 | 37 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||
1973–74 | Minnesota Fighting Saints | WHA | 78 | 57 | 60 | 117 | 88 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 18 | 6 | ||
1974–75 | Minnesota Fighting Saints | WHA | 78 | 48 | 45 | 93 | 33 | 12 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 10 | ||
1975–76 | Minnesota Fighting Saints | WHA | 58 | 31 | 40 | 71 | 27 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1975–76 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 10 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | ||
1976–77 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 40 | 7 | 24 | 31 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1977–78 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 65 | 29 | 37 | 66 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1978–79 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 22 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1978–79 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 14 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1978–79 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1978–79 | Chicago Black Hawks
|
NHL | 26 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
1978–79 | New Brunswick Hawks | AHL | 7 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1979–80 | Kölner EC
|
1.GBun | 20 | 12 | 19 | 31 | 33 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
NHL totals | 588 | 201 | 247 | 448 | 357 | 47 | 14 | 10 | 24 | 45 | ||||
WHA totals | 211 | 136 | 145 | 281 | 148 | 23 | 20 | 15 | 35 | 26 |
International
Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1974 | Canada | SS | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
References
- ^ 1961–62 Toronto St. Michael's (OHA) – Statistics.
- ^ 1963–64 Toronto Marlboros (OHA) – Statistics.
- ^ 1967–68 Toronto Maple Leafs (NHL) – Statistics.
- ISBN 9781617499982. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
- ^ O'Hara, Dave. "Mike Walton Traded to Bruins," The Associated Press, Monday, February 1, 1971.
- ^ 1973–74 Minnesota Fighting Saints (WHA) – Statistics.
- ^ Mike Walton – The Summit in 1974.
- ^ 1977–78 Vancouver Canucks (NHL) – Statistics.
- ^ Bidini, Dave (2 February 2015). "Skating and healing: Mike Walton's on-ice joys, troubles offer wisdom to help his daughter". National Post. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
- ^ Leitch, Carolyn (11 May 2006). "Sundin puts Toronto home up for sale". The Globe and Mail. Toronto. Archived from the original on 1 November 2008. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
- ^ "Bars & Clubs Guide: Shakey's Original Bar and Grill". Toronto Life. 2 December 2008. Archived from the original on 2 December 2008. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
- ^ "WHA Hall of Fame Members". Archived from the original on 2018-10-17. Retrieved 2013-09-13.
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
- Shakey Walton – Joe Pelletier's Greatest Hockey Legends.com.
- Picture of Mike Walton's Name on the 1967 Stanley Cup Plaque
Bibliography
- Cox, Damien & Stellick, Gord. '67: The Maple Leafs, Their Sensational Victory, and The End of an Empire. Toronto, ON: John Wiley & Sons Canada Ltd., 2004.
- Leonetti, Mike & Barkley, Harold. The Game We Knew: Hockey in the Sixties. Vancouver, BC: Raincoast Books, 1998.
- Willes, Ed. The Rebel League: The Short and Unruly Life of the World Hockey Association. Toronto, ON: McClelland & Stewart Ltd., 2004.