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ST. CLOUD, Minn. -- At the age of 20, Nolan Walker can easily remember a tougher transition in his life.
At 14, he left his family home in Anchorage, Alaska, to attend and play hockey for Culver Military Academy in Indiana.
“That was tough and I really hadn’t hit puberty yet,” Walker said with a laugh. “I left home and was thousands of miles away and it was a military academy … it was a big change for me.
“Just being a new kid there is tough environment because they’re always yelling at you. It’s not like West Point where they make you do push-ups, but you had to wear a uniform and it was a really rigorous schedule every day.”
Yeah, it does not sound like there was a lot of free time.
“I would wake up early, shine my shoes, make my bed, head to class, go to practice and then go back to your dorm and do homework for 2-3 hours,” Walker said. “It was the same schedule every day. It was definitely a big change for me.
“I got a little homesick in the beginning, but the hockey helped out.”
Being a consistent producer in hockey has been a constant through three transitions for Walker in the last three years.
Walker is fifth among NCAA Division I men’s hockey players in assists (15) and is third on his team in points (21) in 24 games for top-ranked St. Cloud State. The NCHC-leading Huskies (10-2-2-1 NCHC, 18-4-2 overall) play host to Miami (3-9-2-1, 9-13-4) in a conference series at 7:07 p.m. Friday and 6:07 p.m. Saturday at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center.
Both games are available on NCHC.tv.