Veteran Presence - Tyler Walker

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Tyler Walker: What it Means to be a Veteran?

 

This season has been a very challenging one as we have failed to meet pretty much any expectations we could have had as a team.  I was looking forward to being part of a team with so many good people and players and unfortunately, with our struggles, we now find ourselves fully selling off after trading several of our other top players.  With that being said, I find myself in the role as one of the only veterans on the team, and that means something else entirely.

 

When I was a rookie on Malmo, I had Condor Adrienne who was about as good of a mentor as you could ever ask for.  There were a few other younger guys with a lot of talent like Hylands, Shields, etc...but honestly, it was a very weird experience as someone who had a lot of expectations for himself, but really was in a limited role.  I wasn’t counted on to be the guy which was okay, but it did complicate things for myself as someone who is a fierce competitor.

 

Flash forward to Davos now and I find myself in that Condor Adrienne role.  While I’m certainly not on his level, I know I need to be the leader this team needs me to be and while I’ve had many people asking if I think I will be traded, I still see myself with this team long-term.  I love it in Davos and I fully trust management to guide us through this and on our way to hopefully a playoff position again soon.

 

With guys like Tsujimoto, UnGuri and Nananana I have a lot of faith in some of our pieces, but I do know we are a long way away from being a major contender unfortunately.  With that being said, I’m excited for the rest of the season as I’ve been told I should expect some more responsibility, and maybe I can finish off the season strong and help us spoil some hopes and dreams for other teams.  With the potential draft on the horizon it may be tempting to stress that winning isn’t important, but winning will breed confidence for our young team, so I hope that we can win more than anyone expects us to.  I’m excited for the future but looking back onto my first few seasons with Malmo, while the faces and names are different, and my role is vastly different, the team makeup of personalities still sorta mirrors each other, and that makes me quite comfortable with where we are going, given the way Malmo exploded on their way to a Continental Cup.