Despite Sharing a Birthday, Barber and Walker Traveled Different Paths to Hershey
Nathan Walker and Riley Barber celebrate a goal during Hershey’s win last Saturday against Syracuse (Kyle Mace / Chocolate Hockey)
Riley Barber and Nathan Walker found themselves on opposite ends of the ice at the end of Bears practice Thursday morning. Walker, sporting a pink helmet, was taking one-timers with teammates, smiling as he sat on his stick and goofing off with them. On the other end, Barber was smiling as he playfully pushed his roommate Paul Carey in front of the net.
The two players are now sharing a line in Hershey with former NHL star Scott Gomez, but they have a bit more in common than their linemate and team they play on.
For most people, Monday, February 7, 1994, was just another regular day in their lives. The United States was rocking out to Ace of Base’s “The Sign” while the UK enjoyed D:Rream’s “Things Can Only Get Better”. Jim Carrey was the world’s most famous pet detective, and there were still four months until O.J. Simpson took the LAPD and 95 million people on the most watched car chase of all time.
Yet for two families, that day was one of the happiest in their lives. In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Riley was born to Stacy and Don Barber. On the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, Ceri and Wayne Walker welcomed Nathan into the world in Cardiff, Wales. 22 years later, the two of them find themselves in the sweetest place on earth, playing for the same hockey team, on the same line, together.
Being raised in the Steel City of Pittsburgh, Barber bled black and yellow, cheering for many local sports teams. “Growing up around Pittsburgh, it was always the Penguins,” the now Capitals prospect said. “Lemieux brought the team back there. Then we got Sid [Sidney Crosby], we drafted [Evgeni] Malkin, and that’s all we talked about. My dad and I, even my brothers, can remember watching those players every chance we got when we were growing up. It was great. We all loved the Steelers – my whole family was Penguins, Pirates, and Steelers fans.”
But in 2012, Barber’s fandom would switch as he was drafted by the Washington Capitals in the sixth round of the NHL Entry Draft. “When I got drafted by Washington, a lot of them changed.”
Barber practically grew up on skates. The son of a former NHL-er and a figure skater, Riley started skating at a very young age. “I was around one-and-a-half or two when I started skating,” he said. “My dad played in the NHL for parts of four-five seasons, and my mom was a figure skater. She was teaching figure skating at the time and I would try and get on the ice any chance I could. I always loved it; my mom said I never wanted to get off.”
For Walker, his upbringing was a bit different. When he was only two-years-old, Nathan’s family packed up and moved to the land down under, Australia. “The parents went there for a holiday before my brother and I were born and they loved it. My mom’s sister moved there as well. It was a bit of a better lifestyle, the weather is a little nicer than in Great Britain, so it made sense for them to immigrate there.”
Walker’s story has now been told many times by the media, as he hopes to become the first ever Australian to make it to the NHL. He fell in love with the game of hockey after watching Disney’s “The Mighty Ducks”. “I saw other movies before the Mighty Ducks, but when I saw the Mighty Ducks, I got hooked on that and it took off from there.”
Nathan Walker (left) during his time with the Blacktown Flyers. (Photo via New South Wales Ice Hockey)
After seeing the movie, Walker said he would ask his mother every day to take him to the rink and buy him a pair of skates after seeing the movie. “Once she took me, [I] got a stick in the hands and after that, I was hooked.”
When he was only 13-years-old, Walker made the move to the Czech Republic and took the next step in his career. “We’re not on the ice that much back home, and I was on the ice every day, twice a day, every day of the week. It was definitely different to get there and be on the ice there all the time.”
Very quickly, Nathan realized he had a chance to turn his love into a living. “It started to become a reality when I hit 15, 16 and started playing on the men’s team in Czech. Then I moved over here it really started to kick in. I tried to make some noise and try and make the National Hockey League.”
When Walker was 19-years-old, he landed in Youngstown, Ohio, playing for the Youngstown Phantoms of the USHL. “My second year pro in Europe wasn’t going the way I wanted it. I was in Czech for five and a half years now and it just felt like the right thing to do and round out my North American game.”
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Two years before Walker came to America to begin his journey to the NHL, Barber had his own stint in the USHL. At 16-years-old, Riley went to Dubuque, Iowa to play for the newest USHL team, the Fighting Saints. But after a season there, and then one on the United State National U-18 Team, Riley joined the Miami University (OH) Redhawks to begin his college career. “I had a lot of friends that went the major junior route. I grew up with [Vincent] Trocheck, who went the major junior route and played with him all my life. I thought it was a better feel.
“I didn’t think I was ready to make the jump to the OHL and make that decision to not go to school that early. It’s hard at 16 to make that decision and completely give up on school. When I was 16, I went to Dubuque and had a really good year there. Ever since then, I was with a lot of college guys. I thought it was the right play for me. You get more time developing and a good education at the same time.”
Riley Barber (right) poses with teammate Sean Kuraly after winning the IIHF 2013 World Junior Championship. (Journal-News)
During Barber’s first year in school, the World Juniors and team USA came calling as the Americans would compete for their third ever IIHF World Junior Championship title in Russia. “It was huge to make that world juniors team my freshman year in college. That’s when I kind of thought I might have a chance to make a living out of this and play pretty long.”
The USA would go on to win gold in 2013, knocking off the defending champions Sweden in the championship game to take the title. “That first tournament was unbelievable. I got to play with guys from Pittsburgh that I used to play with when I was younger. Guys like J.T. Miller, Trocheck, [Josh] Gibson, [Alex] Galchenyuk, and I got to play with my college buddy Sean [Kuraly]. It’s one of the most memorable moments I had playing hockey to this day. It was just a great time and it was something really special.”
After three years with the Redhawks, and a disappointing end to his junior year after an MCL injury, Barber made the jump to the professional level. “I think it was just the right time for me to move on and start the next path of my career. I have 30-some credits left to finish and I’m going to pick away at that. It wasn’t that much to finish school and I thought it was the right time to jump and get my professional career started.”
Barber during his time with the Miami Redhawks (Photo via NHL.com)
After his stint in Youngstown, Walker got a chance of a lifetime, being brought in by the Washington Capitals for a look. His coach in Youngstown had a good relationship with one of Washington’s scouts, setting up a opportunity for him to visit Capitals rookie camp, and then training camp. “My first [training] camp, being on the same lines with guys like [Alex] Ovechkin and [Nick] Backstrom, it was pretty impressive. I was blown away by that.”
Walker is now in his third year in the AHL, making him a bit more experienced compared to the other young players on the team. “Whenever they have a question, I try and do my best to answer it and give them a little bit of advice; tell them what I went through my first year and how I kind of approached things, what I would have done differently, but that’s about it. I’m always trying to help guys, no matter if they’re older or younger than me and try and be a good teammate for them. I’m always trying to help them out.”
Walker during his first camp with Washington in 2013 (Photo via NHL.com)
All the young talent that Hershey has this year is a rare sight in Chocolate Town as the Bears normally have a good mix of veterans, tweeners, and rookies. But the overwhelming of first or second-year players, nine to be exact, has this group actually clicking a bit more. “A lot of the guys like myself, [Madison] Bowey, [Chandler] Stephenson, Herbie,” Barber said, “all of those first or second-year guys, we’ve been to development camps and hung out with each other for three or four years.
“It’s cool that we come here, I’m roommates with Bowey and Paul [Carey] and we have a great friendship. Guys are really close. Everybody is in the same situation, so it’s good you can relate and have someone there to talk to.”
“This is a really good group of guys that seem to gel together,” said Walker. “The character of the room is really good, the coaches are great, the team’s playing well right now. I think you’re right about that – it helps the chemistry and gel a little bit more.”
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The two players are now sharing a line together and are clicking very well. In two games, Barber, Gomez, and Walker have a combined points line of 6-7-13. “Barber is more of that skill set type of player,” head coach Troy Mann said. “He needs to see his power play time. He’s a more deceiving skater – he’s actually faster than you might think in his skating stride and he does compete. He may not go kill people in the corners with that physical presence of a Walker, but he certainly competes and that’s what I like about him.”
Walker reiterated the praise Mann had for Barber. “He’s smart with the puck. He works really hard to get to the dirty areas, and that’s where he’s really good. He’s really good below the goal line and off the rush. Like that play he made to me out in front of the net [Saturday against Syracuse,] that’s not an easy play to make on your backhand.”
And for Walker, his linemate thought very highly of him. “Walks is a great player,” said Barber. “He’s real fast – makes defensemen and other forwards make mistakes with his speed. He’s a great energy guy and a great teammate to have.”
“Walker is a different type of player,” said Mann. “You can put in on a line with say a [Garrett] Mitchell and [Liam] O’Brien, and you can throw him up in the top six.”
Both players will have to share their 22nd birthday on the ice in Giant Center when Hershey plays Binghamton. Despite the fact they have to work on their birthdays, the game brings them one step closer to their dreams of making the NHL.