Three-year captain of the Golden Gophers, Sammy Walker, will stay in his home state after signing a two-year, entry-level contract with the Minnesota Wild it was announced by General Manager Bill Guerin.

A native of Edina, Minn., Walker played four seasons with the Maroon and Gold and earned All-Big Ten Honorable Mention honors in each of his final three years after being named Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2018-19. He helped Minnesota win a Big Ten regular-season title and reach the 2022 NCAA Frozen Four, its first trip since 2014, behind a career-best 14 goals as a senior.

He saw the ice in 144 games over his tenure and is a member of the elite, 100-point club by posting 48 goals and 64 assists for 112 points as a Gopher. The 5-11 center also was named the team's Elwin "Doc" Romnes Leadership & Sportsmanship Award and Donald M. Clark Community Service Award recipient during his junior campaign while leading Minnesota to a Big Ten Conference Tournament championship and an NCAA Tournament appearance.

Walker joined the Gophers after four years on the ice with Edina High School and capped his prep career by powering the Hornets to a third-place finish in the 2018 MSHSL Class AA State Tournament and earned the 2018 Mr. Hockey Award, presented to the most outstanding boy's senior high school player in the state of Minnesota.

Walker originally was drafted in the seventh round of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning (200th overall).