Walman has shown in his career he can handle the big minutes after he recorded six goals and 26 assists in 50 games as the Sharks top defenceman in 2023-24, averaging the most ice time (23:11) on the team. While he enjoyed his time with the Sharks, Walman feels settled into the heightened competitive setting in Edmonton where they're preparing for another deep run in the playoffs rather than finding themselves in the deep end of a rebuild.
“It's a different situation for sure, but that that team's gonna be good in a few years and they've got a lot of great pieces," Walman said on Wednesday. "But coming here, it's a different situation. It's kind of just about fitting in for me. It's already a great team and I just want to do what I can to provide that little extra and fit in where I can, so I think it's been pretty easy so far."
Emberson played in 30 games with the Sharks last season and recorded a goal and nine assists before missing the remainder of the year with an injury and being traded to the Oilers in the summer. He's had to deal with the added challenge of competing for more minutes on a veteran team, but he's still a young players at 24 years old who's trying to develop his game and is excited to be doing it on a contender like Edmonton.
"It's been up and down for me this year. I think right now, I'm trying to find my game again, but it's always a process as a young guy in the league," Emberson said. "I think they say something about young defenceman that it takes a couple hundred games to find yourself, so I think I'm still doing that but I'm trying to prove myself every night."
"It's a much older team here and we have some really good players on the back end, so those guys have earned their ice time and their spot in the league. It's awesome to be able to learn from them day in and day out whether it's practice or off the ice. I'm just looking at how they handle themselves and how they've built such a good career developmentally."
