Blues’ Nathan Walker expected to return after 17-game absence with upper-body injury

The St. Louis Blues will get some help in their lineup when they visit the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night at the American Airlines Centre, with left winger Nathan Walker set to return. 

The Welsh-Australian forward has not been in the Blues’ lineup since Dec. 1, as the team placed him on injured reserve with an upper-body injury after he picked up the injury in a 4-1 loss to the Anaheim Ducks that night. 

Initially, timelines suggested that Walker would be out for “at least eight weeks.” However, he is set to return just over five weeks after sustaining the injury, putting him ahead of schedule. His initial injury also came just hours after the club announced that forward Jimmy Snuggerud would be sidelined for six weeks with a wrist injury – Snuggerud returned on Dec. 27, missing only four weeks. 

The 31-year-old has three goals and nine points in 25 games for the Blues in 2025-26, with a total of 31 goals and 65 points in 254 career regular-season games with the Blues, Edmonton Oilers, and Washington Capitals, where he won the 2018 Stanley Cup. 

Initially drafted 89th overall by the Capitals in the third round of the 2014 NHL Draft, his career-best season came last season, when he scored eight goals and 16 points in 73 games in his first campaign with the Blues. 

According to the Blues’ official website, Walker is projected to play on the fourth line on Wednesday as he and left winger Alexey Toropchenko flank center Oskar Sundqvist against the Blackhawks. 

The Blues enter the contest sitting sixth in the Central Division through 43 games and are three points short of the San Jose Sharks for the second Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. 

After Wednesday’s game, the Blues look ahead to a visit to the Utah Mammoth on Friday, as part of a three-game road swing that wraps up against the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday.