Michael Robert Walton (born January 3, 1945) is a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
former professional
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...
player. Walton played
forward in the
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
(NHL) and
World Hockey Association
The World Hockey Association (french: Association mondiale de hockey) was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) ...
(WHA) from 1965 until 1979.
Early years
Walton was born in Kirkland Lake, Ontario, but his family lived a transient existence during his youth before settling north of
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
, Ontario. They operated a restaurant/garage in
Sutton
Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to:
Places
United Kingdom
England
In alphabetical order by county:
* Sutton, Bedfordshire
* Sutton, Berkshire, a location
* Sutton-in-the-Isle, Ely, Cambridgeshire
* ...
, about north of the city. He inherited his nickname "Shakey" from his father,
Bob Walton, who would shake his head to throw off opponents as a hockey player in England.
He spent each of his first two years of
junior hockey
Junior hockey is a level of competitive ice hockey generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur (with some exceptions) and operate within regions of each cou ...
with the only two champions in the
Metro Junior A League
The Metro Junior A League was a junior ice hockey league created in 1961 by Toronto Maple Leafs owner Stafford Smythe in an attempt to rival the OHA, and act as a farm system for his NHL team. The league operated for two seasons from 1961 to 196 ...
's brief history. He first attended
St. Michael's College School
St. Michael's College School, (also known as St. Michael's, St. Mike's, and SMCS), is an independent, Catholic school for young men in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Administered by the Basilian Fathers, it is the largest school of its kind in Cana ...
on a partial
scholarship
A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need.
Scholars ...
. When the Majors' famous hockey program was discontinued after the 1961–62 season, Walton and the rest of the players were transferred to
Neil McNeil Catholic Secondary School, where he scored 22
goal
A goal is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines.
A goal is roughly similar to a purpose or ...
s in 38 games for the Maroons in 1962–63.
Playing career
Toronto Maple Leafs
He became a part of the
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...
' talent pipeline when he joined its
Ontario Hockey Association farm team
In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...
, the
Marlboros, where he was the club's second leading scorer with 92 points (41 goals, 51
assist
Assist or ASSIST may refer to:
Sports
Several sports have a statistic known as an "assist", generally relating to action by a player leading to a score by another player on their team:
*Assist (basketball), a pass by a player that facilitates a ba ...
s) in 53 games, while helping them win the league championship and
Memorial Cup
The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League, a consortium of three major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tournament played between t ...
in
1964
Events January
* January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved.
* January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...
. He then earned back-to-back
minor league Rookie of the Year honours, first with the
Tulsa Oilers
The Tulsa Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and play in the ECHL. The Oilers played their home games at the Tulsa Convention Center until 2008 when they moved into the new BOK Center. For many years, the Tuls ...
of the
Central Professional Hockey League (CPHL) in 1965, then with the
Calder Cup
The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League. It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars.
The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian mahogany. In its cur ...
-winning
Rochester Americans
The Rochester Americans (colloquially known as the Amerks) are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League; the team is an owned and operated affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home games in Rochester, New York, ...
of the
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...
(AHL) in 1966.
Walton made his Leafs debut in
1965–66, appearing in only six matches. He established himself on the veteran-dominated team midway through the
next campaign. Working exclusively on
power-play situations, he scored four goals with three assists while playing in all twelve games of Toronto's
postseason
The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
run to the
1967 Stanley Cup Championship. He was the club's leading scorer with 59 points (30 goals, 29 assists) in
1967–68, his first full season in the league and most productive with the Leafs.
His time with the Leafs was marred by constant conflict with head coach
Punch Imlach
George "Punch" Imlach (March 15, 1918 – December 1, 1987) was a Canadian ice hockey coach and general manager best known for his association with the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Buffalo Sabres. He is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, and ...
and team president
Stafford Smythe
Conn Stafford Smythe (March 15, 1921 – October 13, 1971) was the son of Conn Smythe and president of Maple Leaf Gardens Ltd. and the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey team from 1961–1969 and from 1970 until his death.
Early years
Born in Toronto, S ...
. Prior to his dismissal in April 1969, the domineering Imlach, disdainful of younger players, clashed with Walton over his hairstyle and bombarded him with negative comments about his on-ice performance. Also at issue was the fact that Walton's
agent
Agent may refer to:
Espionage, investigation, and law
*, spies or intelligence officers
* Law of agency, laws involving a person authorized to act on behalf of another
** Agent of record, a person with a contractual agreement with an insuranc ...
was
Alan Eagleson
Robert Alan Eagleson (born April 24, 1933) is a disbarred Canadian lawyer, hockey agent and promoter. Clients that he represented included superstars Bobby Orr and Darryl Sittler, and he was the first executive director of the NHL Players Ass ...
, who helped establish the
NHL Players' Association
NHLPA (french: AJLNH) is the labour union for the group of professional hockey players who are under Standard Player Contracts to the 32 member clubs in the National Hockey League (NHL) located in the United States and Canada. The association r ...
. Further complicating matters was Walton's marriage to Smythe's niece, and
Conn Smythe
Constantine Falkland Cary Smythe, Military Cross, MC (; February 1, 1895 – November 18, 1980) was a Canadian businessman, soldier and sportsman in ice hockey and horse racing. He is best known as the principal owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs ...
's granddaughter, Candace.
When an independent psychiatrist appointed by the NHL diagnosed Walton with depression in the middle of the
1970–71 season, his departure from the Leafs was imminent.
Boston Bruins
Walton was traded by Toronto to the
defending Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...
as part of a three-way deal which also involved the
Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Well ...
on
January 31
Events Pre-1600
* 314 – Pope Sylvester I is consecrated, as successor to the late Pope Miltiades.
*1208 – The Battle of Lena takes place between King Sverker II of Sweden and his rival, Prince Eric, whose victory puts him on the ...
, 1971. The Maple Leafs received
Bernie Parent
Bernard Marcel Parent (born April 3, 1945) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played 13 National Hockey League (NHL) seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers, Boston Bruins, and Toronto Maple Leafs, and also spent one seaso ...
and a second-round pick in the
1971 NHL Amateur Draft
The 1971 NHL Amateur Draft was the ninth NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 10, 1971, at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec.
The last active player in the NHL from this draft class was Larry Robinson, who retired after the 1991†...
(
Rick Kehoe
Ricky Thomas Kehoe (born July 15, 1951) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and coach, most notably for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League.
Playing career
Kehoe played junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey Asso ...
) from the Flyers who got
Bruce Gamble
Bruce George Gamble (May 24, 1938 – December 29, 1982) was a professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1962 and 1972, with some stints in the minor leagues during that time.
Junior career
Gamble ...
and a first-round selection (
Pierre Plante
Pierre Renald Plante (born May 14, 1951) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 599 National Hockey League (NHL) games for the Philadelphia Flyers, St. Louis Blues, Chicago Black Hawks, New York Rangers and Quebec Nordique ...
) in the same draft from the Leafs and
Rick MacLeish
Richard George MacLeish (January 3, 1950 – May 30, 2016) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Philadelphia Flyers, Hartford Whalers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Detroit ...
and
Danny Schock from the Bruins.
Walton blended in well with the Bruins' prolific scorers led by
Phil Esposito
Philip Anthony Esposito ( , ; born February 20, 1942) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, coach and executive, and current broadcaster for the Tampa Bay Lightning. A member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, he played 18 seasons in ...
and
Bobby Orr
Robert Gordon Orr (born March 20, 1948) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, widely acknowledged as one of the greatest of all time. Orr used his ice skating speed, scoring, and play-making abilities to revolutionize the pos ...
, his business partner at the time with the Orr-Walton Sports Camp in
Orillia, Ontario. He became a part of his second Championship when the Bruins defeated the
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...
in the
1972 Finals.
He was injured in a bizarre accident in the middle of the
1972–73 season when he tripped and fell through a plate glass door at a
St. Louis
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
hotel. Despite needing over 200 stitches and a complete blood transfusion after losing five pints of blood, he made a complete recovery.
Minnesota Fighting Saints
The upstart World Hockey Association, attempting to lure talent away from the established league, conducted its General Player Draft on February 12, 1972 to evenly distribute amongst its franchises NHL players with expiring contracts. Even though still under contract with the Bruins, Walton was selected by the
Los Angeles Sharks
The Los Angeles Sharks were an ice hockey team that played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 to 1974. Their primary home arena was the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena but they sometimes played at the Long Beach Sports Arena whe ...
. His WHA rights were traded in June 1973 to the
Minnesota Fighting Saints
The Minnesota Fighting Saints was the name of two professional ice hockey teams based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, that played in the World Hockey Association. The first team was one of the WHA's original twelve franchises, playing from 1972 to 19 ...
, who succeeded in signing him to a three-year deal worth $450,000.
He made an immediate impact as the WHA's leading scorer with a career-high 117 points (57 goals, 60 assists) in
1973–74. He continued as the team's top scorer for the next two seasons, but left the team on Feb. 25, 1976, three days before financial problems forced the Fighting Saints to cease operations.
He also played for
Team Canada when it lost the
1974 Summit Series to the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
1–4–3. Observers considered his performance to be the biggest disappointment in the series.
Later career
Walton returned to the NHL to finish his 1975–76 campaign, but it was not with the Bruins. Two years earlier on February 7, 1974, they had traded his NHL rights, along with
Chris Oddleifson and
Fred O'Donnell
Frederick James O'Donnell (born December 6, 1949 in Kingston, Ontario and raised in Gananoque, Ontario) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey player and coach. During his professional playing career, which lasted from 1970 to 1976, he pla ...
, to the
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...
for
Bobby Schmautz. Even though his 66 points (29 goals, 37 assists) in
1977–78 led the Canucks and were the best numbers in his NHL career, he was still dealt to the
St. Louis Blues
The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the ...
on June 12, 1978. His subsequent season was split between the Blues, Bruins,
Chicago Black Hawks
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
and the latter two's AHL affiliates. His final year of professional hockey in 1979–80 was spent with
Kölner EC of the
Eishockey-Bundesliga in
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
.
Personal life
Walton is married to Candace, and has three daughters: Connie, JJ and Michelle.
Since his retirement from professional hockey, Walton has worked as a
real estate agent
A real estate agent or real estate broker is a person who represents sellers or buyers of real estate or real property. While a broker may work independently, an agent usually works under a licensed broker to represent clients. Brokers and age ...
for
RE/MAX
RE/MAX, short for Real Estate Maximums, is an American international real estate company that operates through a franchise system. As of 2015, RE/MAX had more than 100,000 agents in 6,800 offices. RE/MAX operates in about 100 countries.
H ...
in Toronto. His clients have included active and former Leafs players, such as
Doug Gilmour
Douglas Robert Gilmour (born June 25, 1963) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for seven different teams. Gilmour was a seventh round selection, 134th overall, of the St. ...
and
Mats Sundin
Mats Johan Sundin (; born 13 February 1971) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey player who played the majority of his career in the National Hockey League (NHL), retiring in 2009. Originally drafted first overall in 1989, Sundin played ...
. He was the eponymous and initial proprietor of Shakey's Original Bar and Grill on
Bloor Street
Bloor Street is a major east–west residential and commercial thoroughfare in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Bloor Street runs from the Prince Edward Viaduct, which spans the Don River Valley, westward into Mississauga where it ends at Central Park ...
in the western part of the city. He is the son of the former NHL hockey player,
Bob Walton.
Awards
* 1964
J. Ross Robertson Cup
The J. Ross Robertson Cup is a Canadian ice hockey trophy. It is awarded annually in junior ice hockey to the champion of the Ontario Hockey League playoffs. It was donated by John Ross Robertson to the Ontario Hockey Association in 1910, and ...
Championship (OHA) – Toronto Marlboros
* 1964 Memorial Cup Championship – Toronto Marlboros
* 1965
Ken McKenzie Trophy
The Ken McKenzie Trophy was awarded annually to the Central Hockey League's leading points scorer in the regular season. The award was named for Ken McKenzie, the co-founder and longtime president and publisher of ''The Hockey News''.
Previously ...
(Rookie of the Year – CPHL) – Tulsa Oilers
* 1966
Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award (Rookie of the Year – AHL) – Rochester Americans
* 1966 Calder Cup Championship (AHL) – Rochester Americans
* 1967 Stanley Cup Championship – Toronto Maple Leafs
* 1968
NHL All Star – Toronto Maple Leafs
*
1972
Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...
Stanley Cup Championship – Boston Bruins
* 1974
Bill Hunter Trophy
The Bill Hunter Trophy was presented to the World Hockey Association's scoring leader in the regular season.
It was named in honour of Bill Hunter, who founded the Alberta Oilers hockey club (which later became the Edmonton Oilers).
Winners
*1 ...
(Scoring Leader – WHA) – Minnesota Fighting Saints
* 2010 Inaugural member of the
World Hockey Association Hall of Fame
The World Hockey Association Hall of Fame is an independent organization dedicated to honoring the World Hockey Association (WHA) which operated from 1972 to 1979 as a major professional ice hockey league.
Officially partnered with the United Stat ...
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
International
References
External links
*
Shakey Walton – Joe Pelletier's Greatest Hockey Legends.com.Picture of Mike Walton's Name on the 1967 Stanley Cup Plaque
Bibliography
* Cox, Damien & Stellick, Gord. 67: The Maple Leafs, Their Sensational Victory, and The End of an Empire''. Toronto, ON: John Wiley & Sons Canada Ltd., 2004.
* Leonetti, Mike & Barkley, Harold. ''The Game We Knew: Hockey in the Sixties''. Vancouver, BC: Raincoast Books, 1998.
* Willes, Ed. ''The Rebel League: The Short and Unruly Life of the World Hockey Association''. Toronto, ON: McClelland & Stewart Ltd., 2004.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walton, Mike
1945 births
Living people
Boston Bruins players
Canadian ice hockey centres
Chicago Blackhawks players
Ice hockey people from Ontario
Minnesota Fighting Saints players
New Brunswick Hawks players
Rochester Americans players
St. Louis Blues players
Stanley Cup champions
Toronto Maple Leafs players
Toronto St. Michael's Majors players
Tulsa Oilers (1964–1984) players
University of Virginia alumni
Vancouver Canucks players
Sportspeople from Kirkland Lake
Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States