Greg Walters (born August 12, 1970) is a Canadian former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

player and coach. He was drafted into the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

in 1990, but spent his career playing in the minor leagues. During 12 seasons, he played 248 games in the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

, and 241 games in the International Hockey League. Turning to coaching, he won two

Ontario Junior Hockey League The Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) is a Junior A ice hockey league in Ontario, Canada. It is under the supervision of the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) and the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). The league dates back to 1954 where i ...

Coach of the Year awards, and one

Canadian Junior Hockey League The Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) is an association of Canadian junior ice hockey#Junior A, junior A ice hockey leagues and teams and was formed in November 1993, emerging from the Canada West Association of Junior 'A' Hockey. The champi ...

Coach of the Year award. He was later a head coach in the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; ) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League, alongside the Western Hockey League and the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. The league is for players ag ...

for the

Oshawa Generals The Oshawa Generals are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. They are based in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. The team is named for General Motors, an early sponsor (commercial), sponsor which has its Canadian headquarters in Oshawa. ...

and the

Owen Sound Attack The Owen Sound Attack are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League based in Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada. Based in Owen Sound since 1989, and operating under the current name since 2000, the Attack play their home games at the J. D. ...

Playing career

Walters played three seasons of

junior ice hockey Junior ice hockey is amateur-level ice hockey for 16 to 20 year-old players. National Junior teams compete annually for the IIHF World Junior Championship. The United States men's national junior ice hockey team are the defending champions from ...

for the

Ottawa 67's The Ottawa 67's are a major junior ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, that plays in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). Established during Canada's centennial year of 1967 and named in honour of this, the 67's currently play thei ...

, after being drafted 65th overall in the 1987 OHL priority draft. In his third season in Ottawa, Walters scored 36 goals, and 90 points, playing for coach Brian Kilrea. Walters was drafted in the 4th round, 80th overall, of the 1990 NHL Entry Draft by the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...

. Walters did not reach the National Hockey League, and spent 12 seasons in the minor leagues. He played 248 games in the

for the

Newmarket Saints The Newmarket Saints were a minor league hockey team in Newmarket, Ontario. It played in the American Hockey League from 1986 to 1991 as the farm team of the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Ray Twinney Complex. After the 1985–86 season, the Toront ...

, St. John's Maple Leafs, and the

Rochester Americans The Rochester Americans (colloquially known as the Amerks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Rochester, New York. They are the American Hockey League affiliate of the National Hockey League's Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home g ...

; and 241 games in the International Hockey League for the

Fort Wayne Komets The Fort Wayne Komets are a minor league ice hockey team, which currently plays in the ECHL. They play their home games at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana. In all of North American professional hockey, only the Orig ...

Chicago Wolves The Chicago Wolves are a professional ice hockey team based in Rosemont, Illinois. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Wolves play home games at the Allstate Arena ...

, and the Houston Aeros. Walters played for the Brantford Smoke, and won the Colonial Cup in the 1992–93 season. In the 1993–94 season for Brantford, Walters had his best offensive season, scoring 42 goals, and 104 points. Walters was considered a defensive winger, and played for future NHL coaches

Bruce Boudreau Bruce Allan Boudreau ( ; born January 9, 1955) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. He previously served as head coach of the Washington Capitals, Anaheim Ducks, Minnesota Wild, and Vancouver Canucks of the National H ...

Marc Crawford Marc Joseph John Crawford (born February 13, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and coach. He played as a forward (hockey), forward for the Vancouver Canucks in the National Hockey League (NHL). Crawford won the Stanley Cup ...

, Ron Low and

John Tortorella John Tortorella (born June 24, 1958) is an American professional ice hockey coach and former player. He most recently served as head coach for the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Tortorella has also been the head coach of ...

Coaching career

Walters began his coaching career as a player-coach during his final season play, with the Port Huron Border Cats in the 2001–02 UHL season. He spent eight seasons from 2002–03 OHL season to the

2009–10 OHL season The 2009–10 OHL season was the 30th season of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). Twenty teams played 68 games each during the regular season schedule, which started on September 17, 2009 and ended on March 14, 2010. On September 9, 2009, all 20 te ...

, as an assistant coach for the

Sarnia Sting The Sarnia Sting are a junior ice hockey team based in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada. They are one of the 20 teams that make up the Ontario Hockey League. They play out of the Progressive Auto Sales Arena (formerly the Sarnia Sports and Entertainment ...

. During this time he worked with head coaches Jeff Perry, Shawn Camp, and Dave MacQueen. Walters chose to leave the Sting to return to the Toronto area, and look for a new challenge.

Georgetown Raiders

Walters was the head coach and general manager of the

Georgetown Raiders The Georgetown Raiders are a Junior "A" ice hockey team from Georgetown, Ontario, Canada. They are a part of the Ontario Junior A Hockey League. The team began play in the Central Ontario Jr. B league and was known as the "Georgetown Gemini" u ...

in the

for eight seasons, from the 2010–11 season to the 2017–18 season. In his second season with Georgetown, the Raiders won their division and conference titles, and Walters was named the 2011–12 OJHL Coach of the Year. During his third season with the Raiders, Walters was selected by

Hockey Canada Hockey Canada (which merged with the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association in 1994) is the national governing body of ice hockey and ice sledge hockey in Canada. It is a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation and controls the majority ...

in cooperation with the

, to be the head coach of Canada East for the 2012 World Junior A Challenge, along with assistant coaches

Sheldon Keefe Sheldon Keefe (born September 17, 1980) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player who is the head coach for the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the second round, 47th overall, by the T ...

and Jason Nobili. His team finished in fourth place in 2012, but in the 2011 World Junior A Challenge as an assistant coach, his team won the silver medal. In the 2016–17 season, Walters led Georgetown to its best season in team history to date, with a record of 45–5–2–2, finishing first overall in the OJHL with 94 points. Walters was named the 2016-17 OJHL Coach of the Year, and the 2016-17 CJHL Coach of the Year. He was also named OJHL Executive of the Year in his role as the team's general manager. During his eight-season tenure with the Raiders, he led the team to a 295–96–16–16 regular season record. While in Georgetown, Walters coached future NHL players Evan Rodrigues, and Scott Wilson.

Oshawa Generals

Walters was named head coach of the

on June 11, 2018, and assistant coaches Greg Nemisz and Nathan McIver remained with the team. Walters said that his coaching style will be defence-first team, including blocking shots, and a quick counter attack. After two seasons coached, he left the Generals following the cancelled 2020–21 season.

Owen Sound Attack

Walters was named head coach of the

on June 30, 2021. He served parts of three seasons as head coach, and was dismissed on October 16, 2023.

Personal life

Walters was born in

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

, and grew up in the

Leaside Leaside (/'liːˌsaɪd/) is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located northeast of Downtown Toronto, in the vicinity of Eglinton Avenue East and Bayview Avenue. It is one of the most expensive and exclusive neighbourhoo ...

area of

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. He resides in the

Greater Toronto Area The Greater Toronto Area, commonly referred to as the GTA, includes the Toronto, City of Toronto and the regional municipality, regional municipalities of Regional Municipality of Durham, Durham, Regional Municipality of Halton, Halton, Regional ...

, and has two sons who play youth baseball.

Playing statistics

Career regular season and playoffs statistics.

Coaching record

''Note: GP = games played, W = wins, L = losses, T = ties, OTL = overtime losses, GF = goals for, GA = goals against, Ref = reference (source)''

Ontario Junior Hockey League

Ontario Hockey League

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Walters, Greg 1970 births Living people Brantford Smoke players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey coaches Canadian ice hockey left wingers Chicago Wolves players Fort Wayne Komets players Houston Aeros (1994–2013) players Ice hockey people from Calgary Newmarket Saints players Oshawa Generals coaches Ottawa 67's players Owen Sound Attack coaches Port Huron Border Cats players Raleigh IceCaps players Rochester Americans players Sarnia Sting coaches St. John's Maple Leafs players Toronto Maple Leafs draft picks