Red Wings 2022-23 Wrap-Up: Jake Walman

DETROIT – After being selected in the third round (82nd overall) by the St. Louis Blues in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, Jake Walman played parts of three seasons (2019-2022) with the Blues but never fully established himself as an everyday NHL defenseman.

 Then the Detroit Red Wings acquired Walman at the 2022 trade deadline, marking a new opportunity for the 27-year-old blueliner to prove himself. After playing 19 games with Detroit in 2021-22, Walman emerged as a top-pair defenseman last season and set career-highs in goals (nine), assists (nine), points (18) and games played (63).

“I did a lot of things that I put my mind to,” Walman said in his end-of-season media session. “The people that have been riding with me, family and close friends, they’ve known that I had it in me. I just needed a chance to show it.”

Walman was rewarded for his breakout campaign with a three-year contract extension on Feb. 28.

 “All the stuff I’ve been through and the adversity I had to get through to get here, I think I was ready for the challenge,” the 6-foot-2, 215-pound blueliner said. “For me, I’m just gonna keep running and going with it.”

 One of the biggest keys to his success in his first full season in Detroit, according to Walman, was the chemistry he formed with Moritz Seider.

 After missing 15 games from Oct. 14 - Nov. 12 while recovering from offseason shoulder surgery, Walman was mostly paired with former Red Wings blueliners Jordan Oesterle and, later, Filip Hronek, before debuting alongside Seider on Dec. 31.

Walman and Seider jelled quickly, and it translated into their play on the ice.

“I think we complement each other really well,” Walman said about Seider. “Whenever he’s up in the play, I’ll stay back. And whenever I’m up, he knows to stay back. I know where he’s gonna be and he knows where I’m gonna be. I like using him on the breakouts too. It makes my job easy when he’s out there with me.”

Seider said he and Walman “vibe really well.”

“I like him as a person a lot,” Seider said in April. “It’s really easy to make plays out there. I just really like coming to work with him.”

Walman acknowledged he made important strides last season, but said a self-critical approach motivates him to be even better in 2023-24.

“I’m the harshest critic on myself,” Walman said. “I’ve always said that I’m gonna be the first one to tell myself that I can do more. I don’t really have a set goal (this season). I just wanna keep pushing myself and this team.”

Setting lofty standards helps Walman focus on what he wants – to win – and how much effort it will take to achieve that goal.

“Everybody’s gotta be dialed in,” Walman said. “You see those teams we played that are playoff teams. Every single guy on those teams is playing hockey the right way.”

And as Walman prepares for his second training camp with the Red Wings, he believes the club is not that far off.

“We have the group that is starting to build that standard.”