Derrick Walser

Derrick Walser
Born	(1978-05-12) May 12, 1978 New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, Canada
Occupation(s)	Ice hockey player, coach
Years active	1998–2017 (player)
Known for	Playing as defenseman for Columbus Blue Jackets in the NHL; coaching Red Deer Rebels

Derrick Walser (born May 12, 1978) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey defenseman who most recently served as the head coach for the Red Deer Rebels in the Western Hockey League. Throughout his playing career, Walser appeared in 91 NHL contests exclusively with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Career

Although undrafted, Walser secured a contract as a free agent with the Calgary Flames on October 16, 1998, and was subsequently assigned to their ECHL team, the Johnstown Chiefs. Across parts of two seasons, he tallied 63 goals in 73 games and earned a spot as an Eastern Conference starter at the 2000 ECHL All-Star game. He spent the entire 2000-01 campaign with the AHL's Saint John Flames.

Walser's NHL experience consists of 91 games played solely with Columbus, where he accumulated 8 goals and 21 assists. Between 2004 and 2006, he competed in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) for Eisbären Berlin, securing back-to-back German championships. Despite Columbus retaining his rights, he was traded to Carolina in June 2005 but returned to Columbus without playing for Carolina. In 2007, Walser joined the Toronto Maple Leafs organization, spending one season with their AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies, before transferring to Chekhov Vityaz in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).

On June 5, 2009, Walser rejoined Eisbären Berlin for a two-year stint. During the 2010–11 season, he played a key role in Berlin’s DEL title run and European Trophy triumph while being honored as DEL Defenseman of the Year.

Following his time in Berlin, Walser competed for four seasons with the Swiss National League A's SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers, participating in 185 games and recording 42 goals alongside 81 assists.

On July 30, 2015, Walser took on a dual role as player and coach for the Belfast Giants competing in the Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL). After two seasons, he departed Belfast at the conclusion of the 2016-17 season. He then accepted an assistant coaching position with the Peterborough Petes of the Ontario Hockey League.

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1994–95	Beauport Harfangs	QMJHL		48	4	18	22	34		12	2	5	7	2
1995–96	Beauport Harfangs	QMJHL		69	9	31	40	56		20	2	11	13	16
1996–97	Beauport Harfangs / Rimouski Océanic	QMJHL		68	28	55	83	70		4	2	2	4	6
1997–98	Rimouski Océanic	QMJHL		70	41	69	110	135		18	10	26	36	49
1998–99	Saint John Flames / Johnstown Chiefs	AHL / ECHL		64	11	19	30	53
1999–2000 AHL season#1999–2000 / 1999–2000 ECHL season#Johnstown Chiefs | Saint John Flames / Johnstown Chiefs | AHL / ECHL |68 |19 |29 |48 |114 |7 |3 |3 |6 |8 |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"	(2000–01)	(Saint John Flames)		(AHL)	(76)	(19)	(36)	(55)		(36)	(19)	(7)	(9)	(16)	(14)
(2001–02)	(Columbus Blue Jackets / Syracuse Crunch)	(NHL / AHL)		(75)	(24)	(38)	(62)	(70)		(10)	(1)	(5)	(6)	(12)
(2002–03)	(Columbus Blue Jackets / Syracuse Crunch)	(NHL / AHL)		(81)	(11)	(27)	(38)	(64)
(2003–04)	(Columbus Blue Jackets / Syracuse Crunch)	(NHL / AHL)		(75)	(11)	(34)	(45)	(104)
(2004–05 to 2005–06)	(Eisbären Berlin)	(DEL)		(98)	(28)	(38)	(66)	(263)		(23)	(10)	(5)	(8)	- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"	(2006–07)	(Albany River Rats / Columbus Blue Jackets / Syracuse Crunch)	(AHL / NHL)	(64)	(11)	(28)	(39)	( 63)
(2007–08)	Toronto Marlies	AHL		77	16	29	45	82		17	2	5	7	- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"	(2008–09)	Vityaz Chekhov	Kontinental Hockey League	51	3	19	22	79					|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"	(2009–11)	Eisbären Berlin	DEL	102	24	58	82	139	17	4	7	11	- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"	(2011–15)	Rapperswil–Jona Lakers	National League A	146	31	58	89	138					|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"	(2015–17)	Belfast Giants	Elite Ice Hockey League	94	13	63	76	101	5	2	0	2	- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"	AHL totals			- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"	NHL totals			- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"	DEL totals			} External links