The prolific midfielder had been hailed a future leader of the club since arriving as the No.1 draft pick in 2018.

He played all 22 games in his debut season when he was a runaway winner of the Rising Star award and at just 19 will be the youngest member of the Blues' leadership group under co-captains Patrick Cripps and Sam Docherty this year.

"I've been able to gain a fair bit of knowledge on the game from older players and I've learnt a lot of things in the past year," Walsh said.

"Now I'm starting to be a bit more vocal with things I see and I like following the game, so if I feel like something needs to be said, I'll say it."

Fellow former No.1 draft pick Jacob Weitering and experienced defender Liam Jones have also been upgraded to official leadership roles after progressing from Carlton's emerging leaders program.

Jones, 28, has enjoyed a career resurgence since moving into a defensive role in 2017.

Former Blues skipper Marc Murphy and Ed Curnow will continue in leadership roles, while veteran Kade Simpson has decided to step aside from the group for 2020.

"The beauty of our club at the moment (is that) no matter what your age or how many years or games you've played, your opinion is valued," Walsh said.

"That's a really good culture that we've got going at the moment.

"I think for me, being one of the younger boys, I've been able to spend a lot of time with the first and second-year players.

"I'll be able to bring them up and we've got a great emerging leaders program that I think I'll be able to give a fair bit of input with."

Walsh said he had recovered well after suffering a head knock in a collision with a teammate at training earlier this month.

He is expected to feature in Thursday's practice match against Collingwood at Ikon Park.

Australian Associated Press