Posted: 5/16/2009 by Brian LeBlanc
When I went to the RBC Center for today's media session, I certainly wasn't expecting this bombshell to be dropped.
Scott Walker's wife, Julie, was diagnosed with cervical cancer last week, prior to game 5 of the series against the Bruins. Walker, you'll remember, was the center of controversy in that game, after his one-punch knockout of Aaron Ward late in the game made him public enemy number one in Boston. Walker told his teammates prior to that game, but the team agreed to not release any information about Julie's diagnosis until it became necessary to do so.
Meeting with the media this afternoon, Walker said over and over again that the best place to be in a situation like this is in a tight-knit locker room like the Hurricanes'. Paul Maurice elaborated on this, saying that just like when any family member has a personal hurdle to overcome, the first thing the rest of the family does is offers whatever necessary to support and assist. Hockey circles being what they are, the Canes were starting to get calls from elsewhere asking if something was up, so they decided to come out and confirm the story rather than let it fester and potentially develop into a distraction.
Walker admitted that he's no doctor, but he did say that the cancer was caught early and he expects his wife to fully recover. The research and treatment facilities in the Triangle are second to none, and Walker said that he takes comfort in knowing that Julie will have access to such world-class facilities.
This news certainly puts Walker's emotional postgame interviews into perspective. Walker said that the first thing he did upon leaving the ice in game 7 was to call his wife, and he described it as a very emotional conversation that obviously spilled out into the interviews he did after the game. You can expect Walker to be in the starting lineup for at least one of the games in Raleigh in this series, and the ovation will be something to behold.
In 2006, the Canes had Julia Rowe, a 6-year-old fighting leukemia who was a family friend of then-coach Peter Laviolette as their inspiration; Rowe
passed away last August after the disease returned. This year, will Julie Walker be that inspiration?
Walker's interview session with the media is attached.
Back with a series preview tomorrow.
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