It’s been an eventful five months for Winnipeg Jet prospect Kieron Walton.
Back in September, the 2024 sixth round pick took part of the 2025 Prospect Showcase in Montreal with his fellow Jets prospects. The opening game of the tournament was against the host Canadiens in front of a packed Bell Centre which was a big change from the rookie tournament in Penticton BC.
Yeah, that was one of the coolest, I mean, warmups of my life. That was really cool kind of coming out, and it was super loud,” said Walton.
“And I know Montreal fans are really passionate, so that was a great time. Had my family there. But before the hit, it was a lot of fun.”
The hit that Walton is referring to is one he took from Canadiens prospect Owen Protz as Walton released a shot from the slot. Walton did get up from the ice and skated off on his own but did not return to the game and missed the next game against Ottawa.
“Yeah, I just saw (the) puck in the slot, went for it. Little bit of a blindside (hit) is what it is. And then I just remember I wasn't staying down in front of 20,000 people,” said Walton.
“So, I was getting up and getting to the bench. I got to the bench. I didn't really know where I was, but I knew I just wasn't staying down.”
Walton was scheduled to take part of Jets training camp but was unable to do so.
“Yeah, I'd say it was about a 10-day process where I started to feel kind of really back to normal and was able to kind of skate a little bit harder and stuff,” said Walton.
“And then probably about 13, 14 days, I started to feel like back to myself and not slow or anything, not dizzy and stuff like that. But the Jets staff and the Moose staff, they took great, great care of me.”
Walton was sent back to the OHL’s Sudbury Wolves where he had an outstanding season in 2024-25 with career highs in goals (38), assists (54) and points (92). The 19-year-old had been putting even more pressure on himself to make sure he built off his breakout year in major junior.
Yeah, definitely. I like having pressure on myself. I think it's good. And yeah, I definitely wanted to have a really good year as well with numbers,” said Walton.
“I definitely put a lot of pressure on myself when it comes to that.”
Walton did just that as he led the team in points heading into 2026 but with the Wolves fading out of contention in their conference, the organization started to make moves with the future in mind. As January arrived, it became more and more clear that Walton could be on the move. On January 5, the Wolves shipped out Blackhawks prospect Alex Pharand and Kraken prospect Nathan Villeneuve to Windsor in a deal that saw eight OHL Priority Selection picks coming back to Sudbury. Four days later, Walton was moved to the Peterborough Petes in another huge trade.
