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Ice Lab

Left wing · #26

Nathan Walker

Washington Capitals Edmonton Oilers St. Louis Blues(traded during the season)
Age
32
Shoots
Left
Height
175 cm
Weight
87 kg
Born
Cardiff, GBR
Draft
2014, round 3, #89 (WSH)

Career · 2017–18 to 2025–26

Games
275
Goals
32
Points
67
TOI per game
11:20
xGF% (5v5)
44.7%
Goals above expected
+4.5
ShowAll teamsWashington CapitalsEdmonton OilersSt. Louis Blues

Season by season

The regular-season line for each season, with the total, by team for traded players.

2017–18WSH7101+19:12425.0%00.231.7%
2017–18EDM2000−110:2020.0%00.128.0%
2017–18All teams910109:27616.7%00.330.6%
2018–19WSH3011+18:0920.0%00.354.4%
2019–20STL5112−211:08616.7%00.654.8%
2020–21STL8101−413:301010.0%01.241.9%
2021–22STL308412+111:333821.1%04.556.6%
2022–23STL562810+1010:17434.7%04.238.6%
2023–24STL457613−110:494316.3%04.237.9%
2024–25STL738816−512:067211.1%06.746.6%
2025–26STL464711−911:593810.5%05.547.1%
Total3 teams275323567−911:2025812.4%027.544.7%

Form

Rolling averages smooth out single games so the trend shows.

Form, ten-game rolling

Points and individual expected goals per game (left scale), averaged over the previous ten games. Ice time is on the second chart.

Points per gameixG per gameTOI per game (minutes)
00.10.20.30.40.50.650100150200250
8m9m10m11m12m13m14m50100150200250Game

Player card

Model-based

How 2017–18 to 2025–26 compares with everyone else at the position over the same seasons, and the players with the most similar profile.

Overall rating

4th line

22nd percentile among qualified forwards, blending scoring 40%, play-driving 40%, usage 20%.

  1. 1st line
  2. 2nd line
  3. 3rd line
  4. 4th line
  5. Extra / AHL

Scoring

3rd line
  • Goals /600.6243rd pct
  • Assists /600.6728th pct
  • ixG /600.5315th pct
  • Goals above expected+4.581st pct

Play-driving

4th line
  • xGF% (5v5)44.7%18th pct
  • CF% (5v5)44.8%13th pct
  • Relative xGF%−3.227th pct
  • Penalty diff /600.1764th pct

Usage

Extra / AHL
  • TOI per game11:2027th pct
  • PP time share1.6%14th pct
  • Offensive zone starts38.9%17th pct
  • Quality of competition23.1%13th pct

Percentiles among forwards with 200+ minutes at 5-on-5 and 20+ games. Ratings rank each column's average percentile among the same players and read it as a role on a depth chart (how).

Most similar players this season

  1. Reese JohnsonCHI0.94
  2. Tyson KozakBUF0.93
  3. Carter RowneyDET0.92
  4. Sam LaffertyPIT/CHI/VAN/BUF0.92
  5. Beck MalenstynWSH/BUF0.92
  6. Zack OstapchukOTT/SJS0.91

Faceoffs

How often Walker wins the draw over 2017–18 to 2025–26, against whom and where, and what a win leads to. Ranked among players with 1737+ draws over the same seasons.

Win rate

52.1%

264–243 · below the 1737 draws of a regular

Against an average centre

51.1%

Opponents won 49.1% of their draws; an average centre would have won 50.9% against them.

Wins above average

+6

Draws won beyond what an average centre facing the same opponents would have won.

Draws per game

3.4

507 draws in all.

By dot, attacking to the right

59%158 · +0.554%82 · +2.447%38 · +3.950%16 · +1.047%15 · −3.748%29 · +1.431%26 · −0.354%87 · +2.045%56 · +1.7Attacking zone →← Defending zone

Win rate at each dot; the small numbers are draws and the xG swing (×100) of winning rather than losing there.

By zone

  • Offensive zone51.7% 62–58
  • Neutral zone53.3% 130–114
  • Defensive zone50.3% 72–71

By strength

  • Even strength52.8% 242–216
  • Power play45.5% 5–6
  • Shorthanded44.7% 17–21

What a win leads to

Shot attempts in the next 20 seconds, for minus against, per 100 draws: +12 after a win, −15 after a loss. Each win was worth 1.4 expected goals per 100 draws more than a loss.

Most-faced opponents

Season by season

SeasonDrawsWin rateAgainst average
2019–201100.0%99.7%
2020–21540.0%37.8%
2021–222334.8%36.1%
2022–2317753.7%52.7%
2023–244247.6%46.3%
2024–2515652.6%51.5%
2025–2610354.4%53.3%

Finishing

Model-based

Did the goals match the chances?

Goals against expected goals

Cumulative goals (solid) and individual xG (dashed) through the season. The gap is finishing: above the dashed line, the player scored more than an average shooter would from the same chances.

+4.5 goals above expected

010203050100150200250Game

Goals above expected, everyone at the same position with 20+ games

−500+50+100

Speed and tracking

From the NHL's EDGE tracking system (2021–22 on): skating speed, shot speed, distance and zone time, for the selected seasons and then every tracked season, to show improvement or decline.

Tracking data (NHL EDGE)

Values from the NHL's puck and player tracking, with the NHL's own league percentile for each. Missing values mean the player wasn't tracked enough.

Tracking

  • Top skating speed36.7 km/h79th pct
  • Speed bursts over 20 mph6753rd pct
  • Hardest shot133.1 km/h34th pct
  • Distance skated140 km37th pct
  • Offensive-zone time39.8%17th pct
Tracking, season by season

Each season against the other forwards that season with 20+ games. A season in progress appears once half its games are played, as provisional: season bests only grow. Bursts and distance are per 60 minutes of ice time, so seasons with fewer games still compare. Percentiles are on these rates, so they can differ from the NHL's, which are on season totals.

This playerMedian forwardMiddle half (25th–75th percentile)Hollow dot: too few games to rank, or a season in progress (*, dashed). Dotted line: no NHL games that season.

Top skating speed

36.7 km/h73rd pct

▼ −0.5 km/h since 2024–25

343536373821–2222–2323–2424–2525–262021–22: 35.5 km/h, 31st percentile (30 games)2022–23: 35.7 km/h, 40th percentile (56 games)2023–24: 35.6 km/h, 37th percentile (45 games)2024–25: 37.2 km/h, 86th percentile (73 games)2025–26: 36.7 km/h, 73rd percentile (46 games)

Bursts over 20 mph per 60

7.369th pct

▲ +2.3 since 2024–25

24681021–2222–2323–2424–2525–262021–22: 6.6, 64th percentile (30 games)2022–23: 5.6, 56th percentile (56 games)2023–24: 6.3, 62nd percentile (45 games)2024–25: 5.0, 46th percentile (73 games)2025–26: 7.3, 69th percentile (46 games)

Distance skated per 60

15.2 km29th pct

▲ +0.0 km since 2024–25

14.51515.51616.521–2222–2323–2424–2525–262021–22: 15.6 km, 51st percentile (30 games)2022–23: 15.1 km, 28th percentile (56 games)2023–24: 15.3 km, 34th percentile (45 games)2024–25: 15.2 km, 22nd percentile (73 games)2025–26: 15.2 km, 29th percentile (46 games)

Hardest shot

133.1 km/h22nd pct

▲ +1.3 km/h since 2024–25

12013014015016021–2222–2323–2424–2525–262021–22: 132.6 km/h, 12th percentile (30 games)2022–23: 147.3 km/h, 70th percentile (56 games)2023–24: 144.6 km/h, 62nd percentile (45 games)2024–25: 131.8 km/h, 14th percentile (73 games)2025–26: 133.1 km/h, 22nd percentile (46 games)

Offensive-zone time

39.8%20th pct

▼ −1.2 points since 2024–25

38%40%42%44%46%21–2222–2323–2424–2525–262021–22: 41.3%, 44th percentile (30 games)2022–23: 39.2%, 17th percentile (56 games)2023–24: 39.9%, 27th percentile (45 games)2024–25: 41.0%, 35th percentile (73 games)2025–26: 39.8%, 20th percentile (46 games)