A Minnesota native is on his way west.

On Monday, the Minnesota Wild traded forward Sammy Walker to the Utah Hockey Club for future considerations.

Utah already announced it’s going to be assigning Walker to its American Hockey League affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners.

Walker has been with the Wild organization since signing as a free agent in August 2022. The Edina native was initially taken in the seventh round of the 2017 NHL Draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning. However, Walker elected to play out his four years of college before getting the chance to sign with his hometown team.

Unfortunately, Walker didn’t spend all that much time in the Twin Cities. Across the previous two seasons, the former Minnesota Golden Gopher played just 13 games with Minnesota, scoring a goal and an assist during the 2022-23 campaign. He ended up playing just four games in the NHL last year, having not been in the Wild lineup since Jan. 4, 2024.

Walker’s spent most of his young pro career in the AHL, becoming a solid scorer for the Wild’s primary affiliate, the Iowa Wild. As a rookie, he notched 27 goals and 21 assists for 48 points before posting another 14 goals and 31 assists for 45 points during the 2023-24 season.

The production hasn’t been there for Walker this season. In just 30 games thus far, he’s only notched two goals and nine assists for 11 points. At this pace, he’d only reach 22 points by season’s end, by far the lowest total of his career.

While the move to Utah is currently seen as a lateral move for the former Big Ten Rookie of the Year, a change of scenery could reinvigorate Walker to become a quality pro once again, and maybe scratch his way back into the NHL.

Utah (21-22-9) is sixth in the Central Division, eight points back of the last Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Wild (31-18-4) are third in the division, 11 points back of the first-place Winnipeg Jets.