CrashingTheGoalie

by Ron Spence

Eric Walsky won the fastest skater competition, finishing his lap  in a time of 13.46 seconds — .22 seconds quicker than Marco Rosa.

Then the rookie surprised the fans at the MTS Centre by hitting all five targets in the accuracy shooting challenge in just 11.96 seconds.

“I didn’t expect to win, to be honest with you,” said Walsky. “But it was a good night.”

Walsky might be a rookie, but he’s not a kid.

Walsky excelled at Anchorage’s East High and was voted Alaska’s player of the year in 2003. He first played for the University of Alaska-Anchorage and had 22 points in 51 games.

He then transferred to Colorado College with the hope of finding a bigger role in an offense that permitted creativity.

The 194 pound 5′11″ right winger collected 20 points in 41 games in 2007-08 – when Colorado College finished first in the WCHA and won the MacNaughton Cup.

The 24-year-old had 36 points (12-24-36) in 38 games – during the 2008-09 season – and finished second in team scoring.

“Eric is a mature, skilled forward with tremendous skating and puck-handling abilities,” Mike Gillis said at the March 20th signing. “We look forward to having him joining our organization and beginning his development in professional hockey.”

Walsky went 5 for 5 during the skills competition, but is only 1 for 29 during AHL games.

He leads the Moose, however, with a +5 and has 5 assists, along with his one goal in 17 games.

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photo courtesy of uscho.com