PROSPECT WATCH: Walsh Continues Upward Trajectory

It seemed like a perfect fit in the otherwise imperfect hockey world that existed last summer.
"I tried to take the positives out of the situation," said Reilly Walsh, the 21-year-old Binghamton Devils defenseman who is playing in his rookie professional season with the big club's American Hockey League affiliate. "But (the circumstances of the pandemic) ended up being beneficial for me to (turn pro early)."

"I either had to turn pro or wait (for college hockey to return)," says Walsh, pointing out he no longer had any junior hockey eligibility. "There were no amateur options left for me."
The signing came after three seasons with Harvard, where Walsh started soon after being taken in the third round (81st overall) in the 2017 NHL Draft. He plans to complete his sociology degree from the famed academic institution, estimating it will take two summers of part-time classes.
Soon after signing, Walsh reported to
Newark
to work out with the large group of Devils and B-Devils who had already assembled there. The transition could have been awkward given that Walsh had been off since March when the Ivy League season was halted.
"It was really weird," he remembers, "I had never been (off skates) for that long before…it was a bit of a slap in the face (adjusting)."
Walsh describes a sort of chicken-egg scenario.
"You can't actually prepare for games without playing in games."
Eventually, the timing came back and Walsh showed well in the main Devils training camp. Unfortunately for him, and all the other Devils prospects, there were no traditional NHL exhibition games in training camp.
Walsh had earned the NHL contract and a label as one of the Devils top prospects because of steady, year-over-year progress in 96 games over three seasons for Harvard, registering 78 points (27G, 51A).

"First and foremost is the speed," he said of the adjustment from college. "Players are more skilled and they are bigger, older, more mature. Things just happen quicker, faster, in everything. How you read the play, see the ice and make plays."
With four points (2G, 2A) points in seven B-Devils games, Walsh has acquitted himself fine. It can be tough to define expectations for a rookie pro in a normal situation. Factor in everything else this season and expectations became even more up in the air for Walsh and the rest of his teammates.
Walsh came to New Jersey with a notable backstory. His father, Mike, played with Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald in the AHL; Fitzgerald and Walsh were roommates and won the 1989 Calder Cup together in Springfield, the AHL affiliate of the New York Islanders at the time.
Mike Walsh was a forward and his decade-long pro career included two 30-goal AHL seasons and 14 NHL games with the Islanders. He also played in Sweden and Italy.
"It's pretty cool to now go through and experience the AHL like he did," said Walsh.
Mike Walsh landed at Proctor Academy, the New Hampshire prep school where he remains a teacher/coach, after he retired. It was at Proctor where Reilly and his younger brother Ronan, who will head to University of Vermont in the fall, took to hockey.
Part of Mike Walsh's guidance of his elder son was to encourage him to keep playing defense, despite the tendency for skilled players to move up as they get older, especially if a player is average size (Reilly Walsh is 6', 185 pounds).
Staying on the blueline put Reilly on the leading edge of the game's transformation, where defensemen are expected to join the rush and support the puck in the o-zone more than ever, while still maintaining their primary responsibility at the back end.
"I've learned you have to pick your spots," said Walsh, "while still not allowing them to score…possession, keeping it, is important, there is no better defense than not letting your opponent have the puck because they can't score without it."
And if Walsh continues his current arc, another objective will be met: making it to the NHL.
How close is he?
"That's a good question," says Walsh, "I don't want to say when but when (the opportunity) comes I want to be ready."