Jake Walman smiled and said, “Take a seat,” as I walked up to him in the Edmonton Oilers’ dressing room Sunday morning.

I’d only interviewed Walman once prior to him joining Edmonton, but since he was acquired from San Jose, we’ve spoken often, and it is clear his parents, Glenn and Mary Anne, raised him well — he’s polite, smiling, and welcoming, and gives thoughtful answers. And three days away from his first Stanley Cup Final, and the biggest games of his career, he’s still exactly the same.

Walman has been an incredible addition for the Oilers. He is tied with Florida’s Anton Lundell for the playoff lead in +/- at +12. His 43 blocked shots rank second behind Esa Lindell (44), but Lindell’s played two more games, and Walman has the best SF% at 5×5 among Oilers defensemen at 58.7 (138-97). He and partner John Klingberg have solidified the Oilers’ defence corps, and Walman is a great combination of shot blocker, puck transporter, and puck distributor. He’s fit in very well in Edmonton, on and off the ice.

Glenn and his younger brother Noah have been in Edmonton since the Dallas series. Mary Anne had to return home after the Dallas series for work, but she will be back for Game 1 on Wednesday. His father and brother are able to work remotely from Edmonton and will split work while enjoying the long summer days Edmonton has to offer, with daylight until 10 p.m.

Walman enjoys being in a hockey-mad market. He mentioned how easy it is to get up for home games, especially in the playoffs with such a rowdy crowd. There is no better place in the NHL than a Canadian market with a winning team. The Oilers have won the second-most playoff games, 41, in the past five seasons, with only Florida (47) winning more. The Oilers desperately want to close the gap over the next three weeks, and then Edmonton, along with the NHL, will see how a Canadian market reacts to a Cup winner in the salary cap and social media era. The Oilers need four more wins to achieve their goal.

Walman had never won a playoff game before joining the Oilers. His previous playoff experience consisted of suiting up in one game with the St. Louis Blues in 2021. Colorado swept the Blues, and Walman dressed in Game 4 in his rookie season. It gave him a small taste of the playoffs, but nothing like the run he’s had with the Oilers. Walman is one of 12 Oilers to have skated in all 16 playoff games. He’s logged the sixth-most minutes on the team and has been a vital piece of their success.

We spoke about the playoffs, the upcoming finals, buying hockey cards for some young fans, and more.

Jake Walman: That’s a good question. I feel like every game in these playoffs has kind of been like that, just balancing emotions. But obviously, we are excited. It kind of feels like a continuation of what we’ve been doing, so you’re in the moment throughout the whole thing, and you’re dialled in. At the same time, I try to take a step back and see the position you’re in and how exciting it is, while ensuring you are focused on the task at hand.

Walman:  Yeah. That’s a good one. I think I’ve proven to myself, and proven to other people, I could play well, and I kind of knew I would be here at some point, but I’m just really proud, to be honest, about how everything came to be. And we’re in a great spot now. I couldn’t be more excited or prouder of the situation that we’re in. And, personally, it’s exciting. I always hoped and dreamed of something like this. So, yeah, I think the biggest thing is how I’ve handled things thus far.

Walman: I’m one of the guys who likes to disassociate as much as possible from the game when I’m outside of it. So, just enjoying time with family, and kind of thinking about the next steps, but at the same time, just kind of separating myself a little bit to give myself a bit of a mental break. I do think about the path and what we’ve been through and the accomplishments we’ve made thus far. But when we get back to the rink, it’s right back at it and preparing for what’s to come.

Walman: That was probably one of the biggest things I was excited about, growing a beard. I always keep it trimmed, so it’s a good excuse to grow it out and kind of not care about it — just let it go. Other than COVID, this is the only time I’ve grown my beard this long. I like it.

Walman: I don’t know if I thought about it like that, but when you put it that way, yeah, I would have been stoked to meet a Maple Leafs player when I was young, growing up in Ontario. Just going to watch them skating was unbelievable.

I’ve always kind of been the guy who tries to take time out of my day to do something for someone else. And I think growing up in Toronto, being a huge hockey fan, I know it’s similar to Edmonton, where kids grow up living, breathing hockey. So, when I saw the young boy looking at hockey cards, I kind of knew instantly that he was a hockey guy. And, yeah, it was a good opportunity for me, and it was a fun chat with them.

I think we have the privilege to use our status to improve the lives of others, and whether that’s just a little deed like that or going to see kids in the hospital, at schools, kids with special needs and kids who are underprivileged, stuff like that. It could be anything, but I’m always looking to kind of use our platform to kind of help other people.

Walman: I think we do a little bit every day. It’s kind of like studying for a test, almost. Same thing in school. You do break it up into pieces and focus on different things every day. Today, we did a little bit of pre-scout and tendencies, stuff like that. They are similar to us. They have a very good team, and they are very deep. They don’t make many mistakes. They track aggressively. I think that’s probably the biggest thing that we’re good at. And you saw with those teams who are great off the rush, they will be another one of those teams.

The biggest thing is getting back and having guys above the puck, and that’s the definition of a mature team. I think it’s kind of instilled in everybody’s brain at this point to track above and defend first kind of thing and then take our chances when we get them.

Walman: I’m not sure. Just be ready for it, I guess. That’s obviously their game, and we must be ready and know it is coming. Hopefully, we can counterattack that a little bit and use it to our advantage somehow. But it will be fun. Every time it is physical, emotions get high, and there is no better spot to be than in the Cup Final with more emotion. We want to be in the game mentally and physically. It will be fun. I can’t wait.

And neither can Oilers fans.

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