Walton’s testimonial team confirmed as Kelman praises Belfast’s home town hero

The All Star squad that will play against the Belfast Giants at the Odyssey Arena in the Graeme Walton testimonial has been confirmed.

Walton, born in Dundonald, Northern Ireland, has become the longest serving Giant following his signing for the organisation in 2003. To date in his Giants career, Walton has won two league titles, two Cups and one Playoff Championship.

Those included to play on Walton’s team are:

Leigh Jamieson, Stevie Lyle, Gareth Martin, Mark Morrison, Curtis Huppe, Paul Sample, Jason Bowen, Rob Stewart and David Gibson

David Gibson is a lifelong friend of Walton’s and both played ice hockey together in their teenage years!

“David is a great friend of mine and is a fantastic ice hockey player,” said Walton, “I have always said that David is one of the most talented Northern Irish players I have ever played with. He was my best man at my wedding and I am looking forward to playing ice hockey with him for one last time!”

Also on Walton’s side are Todd Kelman, Steve Thornton, George Awada, Mike Hoffman and Shane Johnson.

The Giants’ GM, Todd Kelman had plenty to say ahead of the game dedicated to Walton’s service to the team: “Ten years is a long time, but it goes quickly when you are doing something you love. For Graeme Walton, his testimonial is the night we celebrate those ten magical years as a Belfast Giant. For a kid that watched the Giants those first three seasons, he hardly thought he would end up being the longest serving Giant of all time, or indeed that 13 years after the Giants started we would all be gathering to celebrate his career.

“I have known Graeme for all 10 years of him being a Belfast Giant. I even knew him before he ever was a Giant. I am lucky enough to have known him as a team mate and a good friend before I ever became a GM, which unfortunately puts a distance between you and the players, whether you want it to happen or not.

“But Graeme knows me and I know Graeme better than most guys I have played with or that have played for me. When you have the same D partner for a couple of seasons straight, every single game playing together, you get to know someone very well.

“We played together for two entire seasons; one when we only played four defense man – that’s 65 games and a lot of ice time that our local Giant played that season. That year, he also got his first call up to the Team GB Senior Team; a feat that no player from Northern Ireland before or after has accomplished. Not bad for a kid that had to take the ferry over nearly every single weekend for years to get to games in Scotland and learned his trade with his pals on the ice at Dundonald Ice Bowl.

“I am very proud of what Graeme has done as a Giant and for the Giants, and on a broader scale, what he has done for Northern Ireland. To have our longest serving Giant of all time actually being from Belfast is so special and probably the most impressive accomplishment of his to date.

“You all know that I love the Belfast Giants and I have made it my life for the last 13 years, but no matter how much I go on about what it means to be part of the Giants and all the good we have done here on and off the ice, I never will have the same passion or appreciation for this team that Graeme has.

“This is his team more so than it will ever be mine. The Giants belong to the people of Belfast, and being a Belfast Giant could never mean the same thing to me or any of the guys that were not born and bred here as it does to the guys from Northern Ireland.

“Players like current Giants Andrew Dickson and Gareth Roberts, or names from the past like Hugh Smyth, Gareth Martin, Davey Morrison, Chris McGimpsey, Robbie Brown and of course the legendary Mark Morrison.

“You see, after the first three years of the Giants, when the locals joined our team, that was the first time I really understood the importance of being a Giant. It will always mean more to those guys (and all future Giants who eventually make it up to their home town team) than it does to the rest of us who didn’t grow up here.

“We can never quite ‘get it’ despite what we read, or how long we are here or how much we try to understand. Graeme ‘gets it’ – always has, always will.

“He knows that this team belongs more to the people who cheer from the stands than it does to the players wearing the jerseys. He knows that playing for his home town team was his own little NHL and that for him, winning a title (or 5 in his case) was a high that he never imagined he would experience in his ice hockey career. I like that about Wally.

“I like that he takes the time to speak to every fan. I like that you can throw him in a room with anyone and he can keep them smiling and I like that even ten years on he has not lost that passion for playing for his home town team.

“The Belfast Giants is so much more than an ice hockey team and Graeme Walton is so much more than a Belfast Giant but he always put this team first and has been a great ambassador for our team and our sport for the past decade. I count myself very lucky to know him away from the ice as well, and that for years to come I get to share in his fantastic sense of humour and laugh with him about plenty more than just old hockey stories.

“Wally – I think I speak for all of us that have been lucky enough to know you through this crazy sport when I say thank you. The Giants matter more to a lot of people because of you, and they matter whole lot more to me because of you as well.”