As an athlete, you are constantly pushing yourself towards the next level. For many, the ultimate goal is to reach the pros, but what comes next? UMass Lowell hockey alum Ben Walter, who attended UMass Lowell from 2002-2005, received that once in a lifetime opportunity and had to ask himself that very question.
 
In the 2004 NHL Draft, the Boston Bruins selected Walter in the fifth round and 160^th overall. The standout center would remain at UMass Lowell for his junior season as a River Hawk, where he finished first on the team with 39 points in 34 games, scoring 26 goals and adding 13 assists. Three hat tricks later, he was tabbed a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award and garnered interest at the pro level.
 
"I feel my time at UMass Lowell really prepared me to be a pro," Walter said. "I was given a lot of opportunities and obviously great experience with my teammates and coaches."
 
His initial plan was to stick around for his senior year with the River Hawks and earn his degree. However, when an agreement was reached to end the NHL lockout and play in 2005-06, the Bruins were looking to bring Walter into the league.
 
After discussing his options with his River Hawks coaches and his teammates, Walter had a conversation with this father that ultimately led to his final decision. His father, Ryan, played in the NHL for 15 seasons from 1978-1993 and won a Stanley Cup with the Montreal Canadiens in 1986.
 
"My dad had the biggest impact on my career. He had a long NHL career and he was the reason why I wanted to be a hockey player. So, he sat me down and said to me, 'You go to college to get a job. Well, here's a job opportunity.'"
 
While it was far from an easy decision, Walter took the leap to fulfill his dream of playing professional hockey. As he began to get set for his first season, he looked around and found himself practicing with the likes of Joe Thornton and Brian Leetch, both legends of the game.
 
"It was incredibly surreal," Walter said. "To find myself on the same ice as those guys that I'd watched and idolized growing up. I thought it was the coolest thing in the world."
 
He began playing for the Providence Bruins, the AHL affiliate of Boston in the fall of 2005. On January 12, 2006, he got a phone call in the early morning to grab his gear and drive up north to Beantown. Walter would be making his NHL debut against the Los Angeles Kings that evening.
 
"I made the trip and remember just being full of nerves. This had been everything I'd been working toward my entire life and now it was coming together."
 
Walter played in the Bruins system from 2005-07 and grew immensely in a short period of time. His 41-point rookie season was followed by 67 total points the next year, netting 24 goals and tallying 43 assists. His success in 2006-07 earned him a nod as the team's Most Valuable Player.
 
"I tell everyone Providence was one of my favorite cities I ever played in," he said. "It's a great place to start out and grow as a player. We had a lot of fun as a group, but being there showed me how to be a pro and how to properly handle yourself. "
 
Walter would go onto also spend time with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, Lowell Devils and Abbotsford Heat. In six of his eight seasons in the AHL, he went into the summer break having contributed 50 or more points. Walter also helped to lead the Lake Erie Monsters to their first ever playoff berth in 2011, having scored 23 goals and chalking up 47 assists.
 
But following the 2012 season, the NHL entered another lockout. With the future left uncertain, Walter decided to take his talents overseas to Europe and later Japan. It was during this time that the consideration of retirement began to loom. While looking at different post-hockey career paths, Walter was well aware of the possibility of returning to school to obtain his degree.
 
"It was always in the back of my head," he said. "Looking back, it was something I should've done sooner, as many people recommended taking courses when you're young before you have kids and other responsibilities. My final year in Austria, I could see the writing on the wall that it was probably my last season. My decision to leave my playing days behind and finish my degree was actually helped through a few conversations with Norm Bazin."
 
Despite never playing under Bazin, Walter credits him for taking him under his wing. The River Hawk coach helped to connect him with members of the NCAA and UMass Lowell Associate Athletic Director for Academics and Student-Athlete Services, Alison Quandt Westgate. It was through these connections that Walter got accepted into the NCAA Degree Completion Program.
 
Since it was established in 1989, the NCAA Degree Completion Program has offered a select group of former student-athletes the chance to earn their undergraduate degrees. It has gone on to award over 30 million dollars to nearly 3,000 athletes. Those eligible for this program must have exhausted their five years of eligibility and be within 30 credit hours of completing their degree.
 
Once he was registered, Walter was thrown right back into taking courses en route to his degree.
 
"It brought me back to reflect on my days as a student," Walter commented. "Working online was tough to get used to at first, but once I got into it, I felt like I'd been brought back to my roots at college. "
 
He drew upon skills he acquired and lessons he learned during his time as a student-athlete in order to be successful.
 
"Learning to manage a schedule was probably the biggest life lesson I took out of my time [at UMass Lowell]," Walter explained. "It was a big jump to go from living at home and playing Junior A hockey, to moving across the continent. It was a bit of a wake-up call. But we had a big freshman class that year, with 12 kids, so we were all in it together. It was nice that we could lean on each other and hold everyone accountable."
 
Walter remembered that during his time on campus, the coaching staff of Blaise MacDonald, Chris MacKenzie and Ken Rausch emphasized the importance of maintaining high academic standards. The players and coaches set GPA goals and teammates often challenged each other to raise the bar.
 
This time around, he noted that there was a window in which he had to complete all of his remaining coursework, which did add on some pressure. But with the assistance and encouragement of professors, university faculty and his wife, Walter completed his degree as a UMass Lowell River Hawk.
 
"I'm incredibly grateful to the school and those who helped me finish my degree because it's something I'm very proud of," he said. "It was a simple process. I got enrolled, took my classes and stayed on schedule. Those were the keys. For any ex-players who are thinking about it or nervous, it's definitely something worth doing."
 
Through the NCAA Degree Completion Program, former athletes do have the option to go complete their schooling somewhere other than where they played, but Walter knew UMass Lowell was an important part of his life and wanted to ensure that it remained that way.
 
"I could've gone anywhere to complete those credits, but to be a River Hawk again now at 35 years old, that's special to me. It was important for me to do it at my school, and I think many ex-college athletes would feel the same way."
 
While Walter's playing days are over, hockey is in his blood, and he doesn't plan to relinquish his love for the game anytime soon. Today, he's the general manager and head coach for the North Island Silvertips, a AAA Hockey Program near Vancouver Island where he lives today. He aims to give as much of his hockey wisdom as he can to the younger players who have hopes of playing professional hockey one day, just as he did.
 
When looking back on his career as a player, as well as his time as a student at UMass Lowell, Walter shared some advice for younger generations. He admits that, while it may be cliché, he firmly believes it was his greatest takeaway throughout his experience.
 
"Enjoy it while it lasts because things don't last forever," the retired pro concluded. "You have four years of university and then you have to move on. So enjoy every day, be thankful for it and get as much out of all your experiences as you can. With hockey, you can only play so long, so I thank everyone who helped me get into this degree program."
 

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