ASU Hockey: Johnny Walker’s scoring outburst pacing offense

Sophomore forward Johnny Walker leads the nation in goals as ASU hockey heads to Happy Valley to face No. 6 Penn State.

The Sun Devils have many positives to consider heading into the biggest road test of the year in No. 6 Penn State, a dominant Big Ten opponent.

Difference makers such as goalie Joey Daccord and ASU’s penalty kill are at the very top of that list.

However, so is Johnny Walker.

Walker, the nation’s leader in goals scored, has put eight pucks in the net already this season (four of those were scored in Saturday’s contest against Nebraska Omaha).

His success thus far has sparked his teammates as well.

“Our scoring right now is pretty balanced and we’ve got a lot of guys chipping in and you need that,” said head coach Greg Powers. “We’re getting help from everybody and that’s what it’s going to take.”

Walker has a total of 13 points scored on the young campaign and has no plans of slowing down.

“It’s a good start but you can’t hang your hat on the first quarter of the season,” Walker said.

There are some aspects of Walker’s game that he wanted to improve upon before this season begun.

“There’s definitely a learning curve for everyone. It’s a different level, a different speed,” Walker said. “Just learning what works and what doesn’t and how I had to adjust to be successful.”

As far as leaders go for the Sun Devils, Walker is one of the team’s more outspoken players on the ice, always having his teammate’s back.

ASU hockey will look to continue its balanced attack that features some of the best young talent in college hockey along with some experienced veterans.

“We’re rolling,” captain defenseman Brinson Pasichnuk said. “When we played Ohio State will still had some rust and I think we knocked that off lately.”

The Sun Devils play No. 6 Penn State this weekend. The first game of the series is Friday at 4 p.m. PT.

All quotes in this article were obtained firsthand by Devils in Detail unless otherwise noted.