The St. Louis Blues are going to bring in a little bit of a different and newer look to their fourth-line trio in 2026-27. With Oskar Sundqvist likely heading down the road to Springfield, Jack Finley will be centering the fourth line.
For the wingers, this upcoming training camp is going to be an interesting one. Alexey Toropchenko, Ross Johnston and Nathan Walker will be vying for two spots.
With the focus being on Walker, let’s go over his 2025-26 season and see if he has what it takes to land a role on that bottom line in 2026-27.
Impact in 2025-26
Walker was once again an active player on the ice in 2025-26. In 46 games, with some time on the sideline due to injury and allowing youngsters like Otto Stenberg to get some time on a higher line, No. 26 had four goals and seven assists. If he played a full season, that would have paced for a career-high 19 points.
The highlight here is his hits. He is a bruising player, and the perfect representation of the Blues' play style. He had 179 hits last season, which, if healthy, would have been an astounding 319 hits. That mark would have set a new career-high for Walker and placed him with the third-most in the NHL ahead of Will Cuylle of the New York Rangers.
Expectation for 2026-27
Now, there may be a roadblock ahead of Walker getting some play time. That would be the aforementioned Johnston, who was sought out by General Manager Alexander Steen in free agency. No. 26 could be the 13th forward for next season.
The main allure with Johnston is that bunched up with Toropchenko and Finley, the entire line is over 6-foot-5, which is monstrous to think about. But Walker packs a mighty punch for just 5-foot-9. That is where he may be able to be used a bit better than Johnston on some nights, as his quickness and speed could pay dividends trying to shut down opposing speedsters around the NHL.
It will be interesting to see what head coach Jim Montgomery decides to do with that fourth line, and what kind of battle those three are going to have in training camp. Let us also not forget that the prospects are going to need to be brought up at some point this season, so Johnston and Walker could both be sat for a few games, depending on how the season is going.
Walker is going to make an impact in either a full-season or half. That is just the kind of player that he is. He can stick out in training camp and force Montgomery's hand.
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