‘Can’t wait to get going’

They’ve been on mostly parallel paths for the longest time, dating back to their time as minor hockey teammates in the Greater Toronto Area with the Toronto Red Wings.

For Kevin He and Kieron Walton, the intersection of their shared dream is about to graduate to the next step: full-time professional hockey players.

It was wild enough that the Winnipeg Jets chose both forwards at the 2024 NHL Draft, with He going in the fourth round and Walton following him in the sixth.

In all likelihood, He and Walton are now set to start next season with the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League after attending Jets training camp in September.

“It’s incredible,” Walton said after the second day of Jets development camp. “I think back to (the draft) and going into the Jets draft room and seeing Kevin there. We both had big smiles on our faces. I’m so excited. I’m so happy for him, with all of the success he’s had. It’s been so much fun. It’s a dream come true, just hanging out with your best buddy. It’s awesome. I love it.”

If you look back at the past 12 months, both He and Walton were involved in Ontario Hockey League trades that sent them from their longtime teams — the Niagara IceDogs and Sudbury Wolves — to contenders for one final run at a junior championship.

Both players also had dynamic seasons, with Walton finishing eighth in OHL scoring with 88 points in 62 regular-season games and He sitting 14th with 39 goals and 77 points through 60 regular-season games.

Those gaudy totals represented career highs for both players, another sign of growth for the forward prospects with an eye on becoming NHLers sooner rather than later.

“The biggest thing I took away from last year was my shot production,” said Walton. “I was able to find some small areas to get shots off, where in the past I couldn’t have. Also, my game away from the puck was getting better, especially in the D-zone. I really dialled in on that.”

On the offensive side, Walton didn’t necessarily change his approach or take more of a shoot-first mentality. It was more a matter of getting to the hard areas and being more dangerous with the puck on his stick.

“I look at it this way, if I don’t have a play, I’m going to fire it on net. If there’s a better play, I’ll try and make it,” said Walton. “Lucky enough, I was able to get lots of shots on net and a lot of them went in.”

Walton is a towering presence at six-foot-six and 227 pounds, but has been known as more of a skilled player, though he’s worked hard to add an element of feistiness to his repertoire.

He, meanwhile, is an explosive skater with finishing ability. During his past two training camps with the Jets, He’s also shown a willingness to engage physically and disrupt plays on the forecheck.

Although He was excited about the prospect of being traded to a contender during his final junior season, preparing to be dealt was an interesting process to sort through.

“Yeah, it was different. I spent so much time in Niagara, it was hard saying goodbye to my billets. I still keep in touch with them to this day,” said He. “Moving on to Flint, I knew a couple guys before, just guys (from) around the league, (that) you kind of play against.

“It was an easy transition.”

Walton appreciated the chance to push himself and round out his overall game while playing in more of a defensive system when he joined Peterborough for the club’s stretch run.

He and Walton joined the Moose for the Calder Cup playoffs, but they were dealing with injuries suffered during the OHL post-season and didn’t see any game action.

However, the time around the team gave them a glimpse of what is on the horizon this fall.

“This is my goal, coming to play pro and having a good career,” said Walton, who suited up in four games with the Moose at the end of the 2024-25 season.

“The past four years in the OHL really helped me with this. I was fortunate enough to come up here the past two years, to see the day-to-day stuff. I’m super pumped. It’s going to be awesome. I just can’t wait to get going.”

He shared a similar sentiment when delving into the benefits of being around the Moose this spring, even though he didn’t get into the lineup for the Cup playoffs because of his lower body injury.

“I kind of see their day-to-day life and kind of how they prepare for games and how they come into training and kind of work on their little details of the game,” said He. “For me, it’s just trying to be a sponge, trying to soak it all in.”

The next step in the development process was easy for He to identify.

“Just kind of filling all my frame, kind of getting bigger,” He said. “I feel like I could put on a little bit more weight, and obviously just continue with my explosiveness and my shot.”

winnipegfreepress.com/kenwiebe