Travis Walton represents the 13th commitment to postsecondary education for the 2019-2020 version of the Nanaimo Clippers, a feat that has not been met for years. It just shows how strong this team was and shows the possibility of a long playoff run and a potential championship but for the season being cut short due to the coronavirus.
Rather than returning to the WHL for his 20 year, Travis Walton made an early decision to come to the Nanaimo Clippers for the 2019-2020 season to be a leader on the team.
Before joining the BCHL, Walton spent three years in the WHL accumulating 141 games with the Kamloops Blazers. This year with the Clippers, he played 53 games accumulating 27 points including 15 goals while playing as a shutdown centre against the other team’s top line. His leadership skills were seen almost immediately when he joined the team and he soon became a key part of the leadership group.
Darren Naylor, Head Coach and VP of the Clippers remarked, “During our off-season acquisition stage, we were looking for a strong leader with experience in the WHL and we were able to commence Travis to join our team for his last year of junior hockey. I can’t say enough about the heart and soul of this player. He took on a key leadership role and was superb in his defensive zone coverage while still contributing offensively. He’s one of the big reasons behind our penalty kill being one of the best in the league. It’s going to be very hard to replace Travis in the coming year because of all the things he contributed on and off the ice.”
Wes Mussio, owner of the Clippers, offered “I’ve known Travis since he was eight years old and he’s always been an elite level athlete at the 1999 birth your level. We were very fortunate to bring him over to the program and he did not disappoint us in the least. Travis is a born leader and I can see him being a head coach of a junior program before the end of the decade. He is a player who everyone looks up to. We are going to miss him terribly for the coming season as it’s hard to replace that sort of character players.”
