Catching up with former Royal Scott Walford
Former Victoria Royal Scott Walford put pen to paper on a one-year deal with the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League (AHL) last week following the conclusion of his time at McGill University.
Hailing from Coquitlam, B.C. Walford spent four seasons with the Royals after being selected 18th overall in the 2014 WHL Prospects Draft. His career with the Royals saw him play 229 games, score 18 goals and add 102 assists for 120 points. His point total is third most by any defenceman in Royals history.
During Walford’s rookie season with Victoria in 2015-16, the Royals claimed the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy as the WHL’s Regular season champions. That season provided Walford with some of his fondest memories while playing junior hockey, including being a part of a close-knit group.
“I’ll always remember the time I was walking up the stairs after we got knocked out in the heartbreaking game against Kelowna. We had a post-game meal, and I was walking out with Coleman Vollrath. Dave Lowry, our coach, stopped us, and he told me that you’ll never play on a team as close as this again. Now that I look back, the only thing I wish I could do would be doing it all over again, and experiencing those memories again.” explained Walford.
Walford concluded his WHL career with the Saskatoon Blades in 2019-20, before continuing his hockey journey at McGill University where he began his first of three seasons as a Redbird in 2021.
Following his time at McGill, where he scored 9 goals and added 46 assists for 55 points in 59 games (USports), Walford earned an amateur tryout (ATO) in March with the Crunch. He would suit up in five games for Syracuse during the 2023-24 season, before earning his AHL contract at the end of last week.
