Login

Evok · 05-10-2020, 05:20 PM

Code:
8,015 words - May 4th-10th: SHL Legends - Articles about past drafts, past awards winners and past players  - x2 media

As part of the 10 years anniversary of the Simulation Hockey League, I took the time to write this media for a good friend of mine, @Zombiewolf. His first player, Charles Walker, spent his whole career with the Buffalo Stampede and was a cornerstone of the team right before I joined. Walker was the alternate captain for the team for the majority of his career and shined by his camaraderie and work ethic in the locker room. Buffalo took a chance on a player that appeared shaky in his first season and ended up hitting a home run. Here’s how’s Charles Walker’s career panned out.

Season 32
Charles Walker joined the SMJHL draft list late, when we compare him to some other players in the league. For this reason, not a lot of scouts were able to follow him before the season to evaluate his potential. Despite now showing any interest in any particular team, he managed to gather enough interest around him to be drafted. The Saint Louis Scarecrows, at the time managed by the now legend TML99, picked him in the 6th round. With the 46th pick overall, the St. Louis Scarecrows took a chance on the young defenseman. They quickly inked him to a $2,000,000 deal for the season, along with the other rookies. This late in the draft, no one expected the player to pan out and this is what happened for Charles Walker. The defenseman looked more like a ghost than a hockey player. While he barely showed up for training, his performances on the ice were adequate. The St. Louis Scarecrows were in full rebuild mode and while Charles Walker was not showing the work ethic they would have liked, he was still showing up for more than 20 minutes average per game, switching between the first and second lines. Walker was used in all situations, on the power play and the penalty kill team. He thrived on the power play, where most of his shots were from as well as half his goal. He finished the season with 4 goals for 15 points. While learning to play in the SMJHL, Walker had an overall decent season, blocking 52 shots and giving 34 hits. Unfortunately, The St. Louis Scarecrows missed out on the playoff, finished seventh in the league with a record of 18-27-5. The St. Louis Scarecrows managed to get a solid pick in the sixth round, but Walker’s future entering the offseason was still uncertain.

Season 33
After his playoff elimination, Walker’s attitude changed. He started to care about his work ethic and seems to have found back his joy of playing hockey. When interviewed about it, Walker credited a discussion he had with a young fan. He said that without that kid, he might have never realized his attitude was wrong. The encounter made him realize he could do so much more. During that offseason, he started to work out a lot more. We could find him on the St. Louis Scarecrows ice or in the gym often late in the evening, still trying to perfect his game to impress the brass of the SHL teams. Charles Walker showed interest in only one team during the offseason, as he was seen in an interview with the general manager of the Portland Admirals. As far as the media could see, that was the only team he had contact with in public before the draft. However, during the draft, Charles Walker had to be patient. In the third round, his name was still not drafted. Everything happened fast when it did. First, immediately following the 38th pick, the commissioner of the league announced a trade. The New England Wolfpack acquired cap space, sending the 39th overall to the Buffalo Stampede. Immediately after, the Buffalo Stampede’s general manager said his name. Charles Walker was now part of the Stampede. He signed a one year, $3,000,000 deal with his new team. Knowing that a SHL team had faith in him despite his terrible rookie season, Charles Walker started to show more and more leadership and that work ethic GMs always look for. This even impressed the GMs of the St. Louis Scarecrows. With the departure of Max Weber, Walker was appointed Alternate Captain and promoted back to the first pairing. Walker still played a lot of time on the special units. However, he didn’t shine as much on them as before. He ended up the season with 3 goals for 14 points. His defensive performance was impressive during the season, blocking 60 shots and stunning the other team 58 times with hits. Please with his performance, the general managers of the team awarded him the St. Louis Scarecrows’ Ondrej Ravchitikov Award, best defenseman of the season in the team. Unfortunately, Walker’s season ended early again, as the St. Louis Scarecrows barely managed to have a better record than last time, with 18-25-7, good for seventh in the league again.

Season 34
Before the start of the season, Charles Walker signed, once again, a one-year contract with the Buffalo Stampede, netting himself another $3,000,000 for the season. Multiyear contract seems to elude him for the time being. The season started with a bit of controversy in the St. Louis Scarecrows. The general managers deciding to rotate the titles of captain in the locker room. Walker saw himself stripped of his Alternate Captain title, which didn’t seem to please him. The interview following the announcement showed the old leadership team and we could see Walker’s closed expression during that segment. He didn’t let that affect him, however, and stepped up big time on the ice for the St. Louis Scarecrows. He played an average of 22 minutes a night in the season and put in the offensive. With 9 goals for 30 points, that was the best season Walker had in Junior on the offensive level. On the other hand, his defensive dipped a bit during the season with 50 shots blocked and only 13 hits given. It’s still a decent performance for a defenseman, but nowhere where it was last year. He picked up his power-play abilities and managed to score a third of his point on the special units. The defensive dip didn’t hinder the St. Louis Scarecrows, as for the first time in Walker’s career, he had a taste of the playoff. The Scarecrows finished first in the league, snapping the Laurifer Trophy out of the other teams’ hands, with a record of 35-13-2. In the playoff, the St. Louis Scarecrows reached the playoffs finals after their first-round bye and beating the Prince George Firebirds. They ultimately fell short of the Four Star Cups under the offense of the Detroit Falcons. During the playoff, Walker continued his offense performance, scoring 5 goals for 11 points in 13 games.

Season 35
Charles Walker finally reached what he worked so hard in junior. This was the year he would be playing for the big club, the Buffalo Stampede. After contract negotiation, he finally signed his name on a multiyear deal, where he would gain $4,000,000 in the next three seasons. Under the praise of his general manager, Walker brought to the team the energy of a young rookie hungry for more. He already had a strong relationship with a few of his teammates, having visited Canada, Austria, and Germany with a few of them in the offseason. During the season, he also worked hard to give to others, starting his small foundation named the Walker’s Slapshot Shot, giving children of Washington, DC a chance at hockey. As a rookie, Walker played an average of 14 minutes a night and put up 3 goals for 12 points in the season. He still had to find his mark but performed well defensively, delivering 55 hits and blocking 52 shots. Walker had fire in him during the season. He stepped up multiple times during the season when someone was dirty with his teammates. Three fights won as a rookie in the league labeled him as a fearless adversary. Despite a losing record of 21-20-9, the Buffalo Stampede managed to reach the playoffs. They, unfortunately, didn’t last long, as they were ousted in four games by the New England Wolfpack. During the swipe, Walker didn’t manage to score any point and was limited to 8 hits and 3 shot blocked. During the offseason, Charles Walker received a call he didn’t expect to receive so early and was invited to represent the United States for the International Ice Hockey Federation’s tournament. He suited up for all games of the United States but played barely 10 minutes a game. He still managed to notch 3 assists in the tournament and put his body to use with 7 blocked shots. The USA ultimately ended up falling short in the quarter-finals after a 7-3-1 run.

Season 36
Walker improved during his second season in the Buffalo Stampede. Still under the same management, he was now close to 20 minutes a night. He started to score a lot more, with 8 goals for 17 points in the season. His defensive play improved greatly as, during the season, Charles Walker blocked 72 shots and had 67 hits. His strong performance in the season helped him distinguish himself on many levels compared to other defensemen, such as goal scored, shots blocked, and even game-winning goals. The Buffalo Stampede, helped by all its players, finished the season with a winning record of 28-19-3. They faced the Minnesota Chiefs in the first round and despite fighting tooth and nails against them, they ended up losing the series 4-3. In those seven games, Walker put up 2 assists, 9 shot blocked, and had a hit per game. He played 16 minutes a game but couldn’t support the offensive during the games. Walker next stop was the International tournament once again. He suited up once again in the blue white and red of the united states. However, in the tournament, Walker didn’t manage to shine. In 10 games, he notched only 2 assists and his defensive performance was lackluster. He didn’t have any hit and blocked only 10 shots in 12 minutes per night. The United States fell short of making the medal round. Despite his great play during the regular season, he was often faced with criticism in the season. Walker reacted strongly to one of the editions of Hockey’s Future, ranking the current young players in the league. In the article, he was ranked as a tier 3 prospects, the lowest the article would list. The majority of the Buffalo Stampede prospects were listed in the same tier and this strengthened Charles Walker’s resolution in proving them wrong.

Season 37
That season saw many changes coming into Charles Walker life. The main one being made at the top of the organization, after the general manager who drafted him, TheDamnWalrus, stepped down. Enter Wannabefinn, a new general manager that was eager to learn and to win. However, the transition didn’t happen smoothly for the team. Following the nomination of the new gm, the team was faced with the decision to trade Ludwig Koch Schroder or to see him walk in free agency. The team decided to trade him to the West Kendall Platoon, fetching a first-round pick and a conditional second-round pick. They turned the first-round pick to the San Francisco Pride to get forward prospect Kevin Marks. With the second-round pick, the Buffalo Stampede drafted back up goaltended Ben Holtby. The team, however, enjoyed a team bonding activity before the season, helping them cope with all the movement around them. This newfound chemistry helped Charles Walker to perform on the ice. With the new management, he was now playing over 22 minutes per game on average and kept on improving his offensive abilities. In the season, he had 8 goals for 29 points. His defensive abilities stayed strong with 73 shots blocked but his hits count dipped to 24 in the season. Seeing Charles Walker perform so well, the general manager decided to not wait for the offseason to offer him a new contract. Walker signed his name on another three years deal, netting him $5,000,000 per season. The Buffalo Stampede barely scraped by the playoffs with an even record of 25-23-2. Despite their best efforts, they lost to the West Kendall Platoon 4-3 in the first round. In those games, Walker had a hit per game and blocked 11 shots in the series. He contributed a bit offensively with a goal and two assists. Nothing is better to finish the year than the international tournament. The United stated reached the quarter-finals that year, but didn’t manage to win their first medal-round game. Walker had a quiet round-robin phase, playing only 12 minutes a night. He had two assists in the 10 games and 5 blocked shots.

Season 38
The season started the same in Buffalo. The team faced the free agency of their captain Maximilian Watcher. The management decided to bite the bullet and sent Watcher to the Los Angeles Panthers for a couple of future picks. It was the best move for the franchise, as they were to enter rebuild mode for the next few seasons. The main problem of the Buffalo Stampede at the time was the lack of forwards and defensive depth. They were set with a solid goaltender, but everything else was missing. To start the season, Charles Walker had a to-do list. He hoped to score 20 goals in one season, a positive +/-, finally win a playoff series, and make it to the SHL top 100 list, an annual article coming up each offseason. In the season Charles Walker came close to his first goal, scoring his career-high 18 goals for 35 points. He had 73 shots blocked and gave 43 hits in the season. Unfortunately, he fell short on the two next goals on his list. His +/- was at -10 for the season and despite their best effort, the Buffalo Stampede didn’t manage to qualify to the playoff with their record of 16-31-3. Suiting up for the United States of America once again, Walker had a bigger role to play in the organization. With his 20 minutes a night, his 18 hits, and his 5 points, he helped the team reach the medal round with a record of 7-2-1. Unfortunately, the United States was once against stunned in the quarter-finals, unable to beat their opponent in regular time. The bright side of the season for Walker, however, is that he managed his last goal on his list. A bit after the tournament, in the offseason, he could finally see his name appear on the Top 100 list of best players of the SHL, entering the chart in the 81st position.

Season 39
After a few seasons with a reduced leadership group, only Alexis Metzler remaining, the Buffalo Stampede finally decided to form a new group. Metzler was promoted Captain of the team and Viktor Vorkampfer and Charles Walker received the honors of being named Alternate Captains. Walker was finally able to step back in that leadership role he was able to taste a few seasons ago, as part of the St. Louis Scarecrows. With the new letter on his jersey, he started right away to mentor Kevin Marks and TJ Bayley, the two newest rookies of the team. Charles Walker tried his best to lift the team’s performance as a cornerstone on the defensive line. Despite his best effort, his performance dipped compared to the previous season. He managed to get only 5 goals for 24 points. Defensively, however, he did his best to cover all the angles. He had 83 shots blocked and 50 hits in the season. The team improved slightly their record with a performance of 19-25-6, after adding some new players through free agency, such as Theo Kane, Don Pellegrino and Ivan Koroviev. This was not enough to participate in the postseason and Walker started to enjoy his summer earlier than others. He still received the call to play for the United States of America a few weeks later. On the team, his offensive performance was impressive. In 20 minutes, a night, he scored 4 goals for 10 points, setting him to a point per game. His 15 shots blocked and 9 hits completed his stats for that tournament. Despite a strong performance for Walker, the USA was stunned once again in the quarter-final, where he still managed to add on one assist. Walker regressed to number 95 on the TOP 100 SHL player of the year due to his slight offensive regression.

Season 40
Charles Walker kicked off the offseason with a trip to New York City with a few of his teammates. As per his words, there was nothing good to do in Buffalo, besides catching up on a Stampede game. In New York City, they were able to skate on the ice rink at the Rockefeller Center, where Tusk attempted a few twirls. Pizza was also on the menu, as New York City has some of the best in the world. One of the last noticeable memories that Walker has was when Viktor Marius tried to sneak inside the Statue of Liberty, at the end of the trip. Fortunately, he only got a scolding and everyone was on their way back to Buffalo. As soon as he was back home, the Buffalo Stampede manager immediately jumped to contract negotiation, as Walker was to enter free agency the next season. After discussion, they agreed on another 3-year deal valued at $5,000,000 per season with an extra condition. Walker wanted a veto right on any potential trade to the Manhattan Rage. In the season, Walker performed well. He scored 9 goals for 35 points. He had 67 shots blocked but dipped once again in terms of hits, with only 26 in the seasons. Still playing more than 20 minutes a night on a weak Buffalo Stampede team, Walker preferred to keep his energy to defend the goal than throwing his body around. The Buffalo Stampede had their second-worst season that year since Charles Walker joined their team. With a record of 18-30-2, they missed the playoff for the third year in a row. Walker took advantage of the offseason to pull a bit of charity events, streaming on twitch to raise money for a young sick streamer. He managed to pull $5,000 in donation for the offseason. The United States once again requested his help for the international tournament. In the round-robin, Walker helped the team to squeeze in the medal round with his 6 assists and his 15 shots blocked. The USA won its quarterfinal game. They won their semi-final game. At the end of the tournament, Walker was finally able to taste a bit of success, as the United States returned home with a gold medal around the neck. With his strong season, finishing 2nd in scoring on Buffalo, he managed to climb the rank in the SHL top 100 player of the year and landed at the 55th position.

Season 41
Still high on the rush of winning a medal in an international tournament, representing his country, Charles Walker decided to take this offseason to rest a bit and recharge his batteries. He was at home when the new assistant general manager, Tomen, was named. The rest and the thrill of winning propelled Charles Walker to greatness that season. He played 22 minutes a game, which is quite his norm and dominated at the offensive level. He scored 14 goals for a total of 45 points. Those 45 points crushed his previous best season of 35 points. He also crushed his competition on the defensive level. He put his body to use with a total of 75 hits and 90 shots blocked in the season. Along with his teammates’ performance, he managed to bring back the Buffalo Stampede in the playoff, after a season’s record of 26-17-7. They faced off against a known adversary in the first round, the West Kendall Platoon. Walker crushed it on the ice, with 2 goals for 6 points, 11 shots blocked and 13 hits. Despite leading the team in points during the playoff, that wasn’t enough to beat the West Kendall Platoon. The Stampede lost their first-round match-up 4-3. Walker had no time to rest after being eliminated. He wanted to work hard to possibly repeat what the United States of America had done the last season. He wanted to bring back gold home once again. The group stage happened quickly and Walker managed to bring his strong season performance to the international tournament. He had 8 assists, 10 shots blocked, and 5 hits. With a record of 6-2-2, the USA moved on to the medal round. This is where a Deja Vue scenario happened. The team didn’t manage to get past the quarter-finals, eliminated in overtime. After his strong season, Charles Walker was catapulted to the 20th rank of the SHL Top 100 player of the year, climbing 35 spots compared to the previous season.

Season 42
In this season, Walker was in the peak of his prime. But everything that goes up often fall back. It happened to him. After a great season the previous year, Charles Walker struggled on the ice. He had a mere 4 goals for 24 points, which is far from impressive compared to his previous season. However, on the bright side, Walker continued with his strong physical and defensive performance. He blocked a total of 79 shots and stunned the other team 109 times in the season, which is more than twice a game. The strongest part of his play that season was the power play, where he managed to score three of his goal and 10 of his points. Despite Walker’s dip in performance, that didn’t prevent the Buffalo Stampede to perform in the season. A record of 27-20-3 opened the playoff’s door once again. This time, they were facing up against a team that Walker never faced in the playoff, the Hamilton Steelhawks. The Hamilton Steelhawks ended up destroying the Buffalo Stampede in five games, ending their run in the first round. The Hamilton Steelhawks scored an average of 5 goals per game, for a total of 25 goals compared to the mere 10 goals of the Buffalo Stampede. Walker ended up the series with 2 assists, 22 hits, and 9 shots blocked. Walker received the call once again from the United States of America’s International team. He had an overall good tournament, with 1 goal for 5 points, 8 hits, and 13 shots blocked. Unfortunately, the team didn’t manage to get past the group stage. As expected, Charles Walker nosedived in the SHL Top 100’s list due to his weak season performance. He ranked at the 67th position, falling 47 positions.

Season 43
Despite a weak season previously, Charles Walker didn’t let that affect his morale. In the offseason, he signed an endorsement deal to be the spoke person of a new product, the AISSB cream, which is a personal care product. He got to be in an add where he explained the good that the cream could bring to its user. After trying his best at acting, Walker realized that what he was good at was to be a hockey player. He returned on the ice for the Buffalo Stampede. The defenseman stepped up big time for the team once again, improving on last season’s offensive. He scored 15 goals for 40 points. He had 61 shots blocked and put his body to great use once again, with 120 hits in the season. He was still a cornerstone of the power-play units with 11 of his point with an extra man on the ice. He also had an assist on the penalty kill. The Buffalo Stampede was once again greatly equipped for a playoff run. They had a record of 26-19-5 in the season and head on to face the Minnesota Chiefs in the first round. They managed to swipe the Minnesota Chiefs quite easily, but were now facing their nemesis, the West Kendall Platoon, in the second round. Things went downward in the semi-final and the Buffalo Stampede won only one game in the series. Walkers had 2 goals for 6 points in the playoff. He played close to 25 minutes a game, which is a step up his usual 22 minutes. He had 13 shots blocked and gave 24 hits in 9 games. Walker now had his eyes set to joining the United States of America’s international team in the offseason. He knew they had a top of the line defense and a deadly offense. USA just recently had renovated all the facilities and bought the top of the line equipment for their player and Charles Walker was looking forward to try them on. The team performed as good as usual, with Walker getting 6 points in 10 games for the team. He had 11 shots blocked and 15 hits. The United States team ended up being washed up in the quarter-finals once again, Walker not ranking up any particular statistic in the game. With a better season than the previous one, Walker slowly crawled back up the rank of the SHL Top 100 players and now sat at the 43rd rank.

Season 44
Age is starting to take its toll on Charles Walker. During the pre-season, we could see that he might have been less enduring than he once was and possibly a bit less strong. That didn’t prevent him to sign another multi-year deal, netting himself $5,000,000 for the next three seasons. He once again added some restrictions that he could not be traded to the Toronto North Stars for the contract duration. He was still able to play those big minutes the Buffalo Stampede were expecting of him, but he was way more winded after the night. He was still the big powerhouse that he was before. Honestly, however, it was hard to tell with his performance on the ice. He scored 5 goals for 27 points in the season. He blocked 76 shots and had a stunning 150 hits. As the Simulation Hockey League has 50 games in a season, the number of hits Walker had been a whopping 3 hits per game. At this point, the other teams were bracing for a hit as soon as he stepped on the ice. Walker still shined on the power play, with 7 points of his season coming with an advantage on the ice. Despite his strong play, the Buffalo Stampede was unable to reach the playoff, after a season where they had a record of 19-26-5. Walker knew, however, that he would once again suit for his country, the United States of America, a few weeks later. He had a strong international tournament, scoring 2 goals for 8 points in the 10 games of the group stage. He blocked 14 shots and had 3 hits. This put the United States at a record of 6-3-1 when they entered the Medal Round. Like a broken record, the USA couldn’t handle the team they were facing in the quarter-finals and despite Walker’s strong game, a goal and an assist, they lost. Walker gelt down once again in the Top 100 players of the SHL due to his dip in productivity. He was now ranked 54th on the list, falling 11 ranks.

Season 45
Another season, another round for Charles Walker. He was back to the grind in Buffalo as soon as he could. We could still see that age took a toll on his body, but he would not go down that easily. He was still ready to do his best to help his team, the Buffalo Stampede, reach a championship. Truth to be told, Walker also didn’t want to head to retirement before he was able to put some hardware on his shelves. He would keep going until his last breath. His season in buffalo was still strong. He was still playing big minutes for the team. He scored 8 goals in the season for a total of 31 points. He had 55 hits and blocked 75 shots. While last year, he was a machine on the ice, hitting everything that was not wearing the same jersey as him, we could see that he started to calm down with the body usage. It would probably be the last season where we would see him give so many hits. While everyone in the team tried their best to perform to lift the Buffalo Stampede to greatness, they still felt short of qualifying for the playoff, with a record of 20-26-4. Disappointed in a season that, once again, finished early, Walker focused his energy on other things. He knew that he would have a chance to play hockey in the red white and blue jersey he was wearing the last few years. In their group stage, Walker helped his teammate score 7 times. He had 13 hits and 10 shots blocked. The team reached the medal round following their good performance. They won their first game. They won the second game, but unfortunately, they fell short of the gold. They lost the final game. Walker’s performance was lackluster in the medal round, with only one assist in the three games. He would walk home with the silver medal around his neck Charles Walker was happy, however, to see his name bounce up a little in the Top 100 SHL player. He sat 49th in the list at the end of the season, a little step up but none the least pleasant.

Season 46
Everything comes to he who waits. Those are the word that Charles Walker kept thinking in the offseason, as he was trying his best to stay in shape for the incoming year. Another year of grinding. Walker was starting to become old in the hockey world, but he also knew the Buffalo Stampede had everything they needed to help him realize his dream of lifting the Challenge Cup in the next few seasons. On the ice, his performance stayed steady. He had 6 goals for 36 points in total. His defensive positioning was still amazing, with 93 shots blocked. As mentioned before, however, his physical presence was long gone, landing only 5 hits in the whole season. The strong play of the Buffalo Stampede, led by Viktor Marius in scoring helped, the team finish first in the league with a record of 28-14-8. Walker could now say he had some hardware in the league, as the Buffalo Stampede won the President Trophy. Strongly sitting at the top of the league, the Buffalo Stampede was ready for the playoff. They faced the Hamilton Steelhawks in the first round and emerged victorious, slaying them 4-1. The Manhattan Rage was their next adversary. The Buffalo Stampede brought back home a bear head and the Mathias Chouinard Trophy, after defeating the Manhattan Rage 4-1 to reach the finals. They were now in a new territory, facing one of the newest teams in the league, the New Orleans Specters. The series was pushed to the edge. Game seven was now on. In the 17 games of the playoff, Walker had 2 goals for 9 points. He was not the most offensive player of the series, but he managed to block a great number of shots in the playoff, with 23. He also walked home with a new ring after the seventh game. The Buffalo Stampede defeated the New Orleans Specters in a 5-2 victory. Suiting up for the United States with the confidence of a champion, Charles Walker had 3 goals and 7 points in 12 games in the round-robin. The IIHF has added two new teams so they were playing a bit more this season. The team moved on to the Quarter Finals, where they would face against Ireland. In a brutal march up, where Walker demonstrated great offensive with a goal and an assist, they lost 6-4. Walker kept an eye on the Top 100 SHL player, but unfortunately felt to the 77th position, a difference of 28 position.

Season 47
After the Buffalo Stampede Challenge Cup win, Charles Walker was able to enjoy a small parade in his hometown of Washington DC. He even planned a meet and greet with his fan where they could talk and take selfies with the Challenge Cup. Walker was surprised to see so many children looking up to him as a hero. It’s always such an honor for hockey players to realize how much their action means to younger players and overall to see the joy they can bring in people. He worked hard to come back in shape in the Buffalo Stampede training camp. As soon as he was free, he inked a $4,000,000 contract with the Buffalo Stampede, with a no-trade clause to the Tampa Bay Barracuda. Walker tasted victory once and was ready for more, his performance on the ice demonstrated as much, especially on the offensive level. He scored 16 goals for 38 points. He had almost half of his point on the power play, and exactly half of his goals. He stayed fairly clean in the season, getting only 4 minutes of penalty. He blocked 57 shots and had only 3 hits. He still ate a lot of minutes for the Buffalo Stampede, closing on 22 minutes a game once again. Another strong performance of the Buffalo Stampede, a record of 29-20-1, propelled them to the playoffs. They faced off against the Toronto North Stars in the first round, where they struggled, but kept a good control on the series. Their next opponent was not as easy as the previous one, as they were facing the West Kendall Platoon. After being forced to play a seventh game, the Buffalo Stampede had to bow to their opponent. Overall, the whole team struggled to bring their offensive to the playoffs. Walker managed to put in 3 goals for 6 points in total, but still did his duty of blocking 23 shots in their 13 games. Charles Walker was able to enjoy another season in the red white and blue of the United States team. In 12 games he had 1 goal for 7 points total in the round-robin. He blocked 15 shots and landed one hit. In the medal round, there were waited by Austria, who didn’t wait a minute to knock them out of any medal contention. In their game, everyone struggled, Walker walking out of the tournament with a blank sheet. He had a little confidence boost at the end of the season when he read the Top 100 SHL player of the year article. He was back in the ranking once again, climbing 15 positions to land at the 62nd rank.

Season 48
During the offseason, Charles Walker decided to have a bit of fun and try acting once again. He managed to be cast as an extra, a bodyguard, in the famous TV show “Marvel’s Agent of Shield. Where he had the chance to get beat up by Chloe Bennet, known on the show for her character of Daisy Johnson. After changing his mind with this new experience, Charles Walker was back once again in contract negotiation with the Buffalo Stampede management. After a bit of back and forth between them, they agreed to a one-year contract of $4,000,000 with a limited no-trade clause to the New Orleans Specters. On the ice, Walker’s age started to show up. He still performed well and ate a ton of minutes for the Buffalo Stampede, but he was slower. He had 7 goals for 24 points in his season. He blocked only 54 shots in the season but used his body a bit more than the previous season, with 20 hits. That still helped the Buffalo Stampede to secure a playoff spot with a record of 27-19-4. Their first series was against the Tampa Bay Barracuda. It was a rough series that was pushed to the edge. The Buffalo Stampede won the series and moved on to face the West Kendall Platoon. This time, they would not be upset. In five games, the Buffalo Stampede managed to put their hand for the second time on the Mathias Chouinard awards and head to the finals. The Winnipeg Jets were not an easy team to face, but the Buffalo Stampede managed to knock them out in six games. After a long playoff run, Charles Walker only contributing to six points, the Buffalo Stampede headed home with another ring on their finger. Hyped from his recent victory, Walker was ready to play for his country once again. In 12 games Walker found back his game, scoring 1 goal for 9 points total. He blocked 11 shots and had 13 hits in the round-robin. The United States would then face Austria for the second time in as many years. Fortunately for them, in overtime, they managed to defeat Austria and move on to the semifinals, where Germany was waiting for them. In a 3-1 victory, the United States moved on to the finals for the first time in three years. Sweden, however, had their eyes set on the gold and didn’t go easy on the USA. In a heartbreaking 4-2 defeat, Walker headed home with another silver medal. That season, he saw for the last time his name in the Top 100 SHL players of today. He dipped back to the 94th spot, a landslide of 34 positions.

Season 49
Victory is a thrilling feeling. The offseason was a mix of contract discussion and community event for Charles Walker. Once again, he wanted to give back to the people around him. He enrolled for the supper in the Big Brother program in Buffalo. He had the chance to be the big brother of a young hockey prospect and they had an amazing day, enjoying the Buffalo Stampede rink together. Before the start of the season Walker was able to strike yet another deal with the Buffalo Stampede, bringing home $4,000,000 with a full no-trade clause. This time, he didn’t pick any particular team to not go. He was set on finishing his career right where it’s started. A fun anecdote came up to light during the season, as a journalist caught sight of a goldfish in Charles Walker looker room. When asked about it, Walker answered seriously that it was his good luck charm for a few years now. Fred, the goldfish, has been in all of his games since Season 45. Two cups later, Walker wanted to keep him close for as long as possible. This is the first season where we could see the end of the line was near for Walker. He was now on the third pairing, playing 14 minutes on average per night. He scored 3 goals for a total of 19 points in the season. He blocked 52 shots and landed 33 hits. A good season for the Buffalo Stampede, with a record of 26-19-5, made Walker hungry for a repeat. They were facing the Manhattan Rage in the first round. The Manhattan Rage had the wind in their sail, after their wild-card round, and knocked off the Buffalo Stampede in 5 games. In those five games, Walker was close to a point per game, with 1 goal and 3 assists. He blocked 5 shots and landed just as many hits. Charles Walker was still relieved to see his season was not finished just yet, as there was still the international tournament coming up. Walker still struggled on the ice for the USA. As part of the second pairing, he only managed to have 2 assists in 12 games. He blocked 10 shots and had only one hit. The United States of America still managed to progress to the medal round where they would face Germany in the quarter-finals. In the game, Walker had an assist on one of the two goals the team scored on Germany. However, that was not enough to win the game and the United States were once again bounced out in the quarter-finals. That season, he understood when he didn’t see his name in the Top 100 SHL player of the year.

Season 50
The dance was never-ending. Walker was still hungry for more. He took all summer to make sure he was ready for the season. The only day where he took off in the offseason is the evening where he encountered a goose that scared him. HONQUE HONQUE HONQUE. They goose stole his stick and his gloves while he was taking a break to drink a bit of water. He tried running after the goose but it was a lost cause. He decided to take a breather that night to calm his heart. He got so scared by the goose honking in his ears that he wanted one quiet moment. His work ethic allowed him to receive another contract from the Buffalo Stampede. The modalities were the same; he would receive $4,000,000 for the season and had a no-trade clause. He was not interested to play anywhere else. His work in the offseason paid slightly. He was still on the third pairing, but managed to improve his offensive abilities slightly. He scored 6 goals for 22 points in the season. He blocked 40 shots coming his way and stunned the other team 33 times with his hits. The Buffalo Stampede finished the season with a record of 26-16-8 which allowed them to access the first round right away. They were set to face the Hamilton Steelhawks. The series was challenging, but after 6 games, the Buffalo Stampede were forced to head back home. Their playoff race was once again crushed in the first round. During the series, Walker struggled to keep up, with only 4 shots blocked, 2 points, and one hit. This didn’t prevent him to receive another call from the United States of America. In the 12 round robin games, Walker brought to his country 4 assists, 10 blocked shots, and 3 hits. They would face Japan in the Quarter Finals, where they won in overtime. Canada was the next on their schedule and they managed to blank them, moving on to the finals. Like a Deja Vue, the USA would be facing Germany. The game was exhausting and moved in overtime. In those 3 games, Walker was blanked out of the scoring sheet. This didn’t prevent the United States of America to win their second gold medal since Walker joined the squad. Walker would have another medal to hang in his trophy case.

Season 51
After winning the gold medal with the United States of America, Charles Walker had a quiet offseason. Age was still appearing and he wanted to rest as much as possible this time. While he had improved the last season, he also felt extremely exhausted. The gas tank was starting to slowly deplete, but Walker was not ready to quit just yet. He still had at least another season to go and he wanted to do it in the Buffalo Stampede’s jersey. He worked with the General Manager for a new deal. The speculations were going everywhere, as free agency was closing in and Walker still had no deal. The day before the deadline, a deal was made. Walker would bring home $3,000,000 for the season as well as being protected from trades, as the previous years. He started right away to train with his teammates. He didn’t shine on the ice that season. He was on the third pairing with Alexis Metzler and both were struggling with age. Walker had 2 goals for 13 points in the season. He was still able to position himself pretty well, blocking 47 shots in the season. He landed 20 hits during the season, which was pretty good for his age. The Buffalo Stampede did well in the season, ending with a record of 27-21-2. That was enough to squeeze them in the wild card position, where they would face the Tampa Bay Barracuda. This was an easy series for the Buffalo Stampede and they swept them. They were set to face up with the Hamilton Steelhawks, once again, in the first round. Tides can turn quickly and the Buffalo Stampede and Charles Walker saw their dream being crushed once again. The Hamilton Steelhawks did to them what they had done to the Tampa Bay Barracuda and eliminated them in 4 games. In the 8 playoffs game, Walker only grabbed 3 assists, 10 shots blocked, and 5 hits. Walker received the call from the United States of America. The federation heads were clear with him that this might be the last season he would play for them, due to the next crop of players being ready to step in. Walker did his best for his country, helping them with 2 goals for 3 points in the 12 round robin games. He also blocked 5 shots and landed 3 hits. They first faced Germany, where they won in a fashionable way. The next step was the cold war. They would face Russia in the semi-finals. The USA light up once again the arena, with a 6-3 victory. In the final, they faced Switzerland. This time, the game was a bit closer. They would only manage to score 3 goals, but it was enough to win another gold medal. Despite being blanked in the medal round, Walker headed home with another gold medal around his neck.

Season 52
Speculation were once again buzzing about Charles Walker in the offseason. Answers came in a press conference that was organized by the Buffalo Stampede. The general manager sitting close to him, Walker started to talk. He still had the energy left for the upcoming season. He would be signing another contract with the Buffalo Stampede, a $3,000,000 offer with a no-trade clause. However, this would be his last. After this season, Charles Walker would retire. He would not be playing hockey anymore. He was happy to be able to say that he had spend his whole career in the Buffalo Stampede’s organization. He had made some great friend in the team and in the community and he would always hold a great respect for the city. He was hungry for one last playoff run with the team. He had another quiet season with the Buffalo Stampede, scoring 4 goals for a total of 11 points. He blocked 43 shots in the season and landed 44 hits. The Buffalo Stampede squeezed in the playoff. In the wild card position, they faced the Toronto North Stars. An easy match up, as they swept the Canadian Team. The first round saw them facing the team that knocked them off playoff contention for the last two years. This year, it was different, as the Buffalo Stampede triumphed over the Hamilton Steelhawks in 5 games. In the Conference Finals, they had to play against the Manhattan Rage. While they pushed the series far, they didn’t manage to rally and ended up losing the series 4-2. In the 15 games they played in the playoffs, Walker scored 2 goals, blocked 8 shots and landed 4 hits. A lot of the Buffalo Players had a great post season, but it just wasn’t enough to get past the brick wall that was Peter Larson. For the last time, in Buffalo, Walker hung his skate, after a heartbreaking defeat.

Career stats recap
Number of seasons: 3 years as part of the St. Louis Scarecrows, 18 years as part of the Buffalo Stampede Organization and 17 years as part of Team United States of America
Career gain: $87,000,000

SHL Regular Season Stats:
Games: 900
Goals: 141
Assists: 341
Points: 482
Shots blocked: 1212
Hits: 941

IIHF Round Robin Stats:
Games: 182
Goals: 16
Assists: 79
Points: 95
Shots blocked: 189
Hits: 101

Awards:
2 Challenge Cup with the Buffalo Stampede
2 Mathias Chouinard Trophy with the Buffalo Stampede
1 President Trophy with the Buffalo Stampede
2 Silver Medals with the United States of America
3 Gold Medals with the United States of America