Chris Taylor (born March 6, 1972) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who is currently an assistant coach with the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL). He played in 149 NHL games with the New York Islanders, Boston Bruins, and Buffalo Sabres. In 2017, Taylor was named the head coach of the Rochester Americans in the American Hockey League, the affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. In 2019, he was recalled by the Sabres as an assistant coach on an interim basis and returned to the Americans in late November,[1] staying until June 2020.
| Chris Taylor | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Taylor with the Rochester Americans in 2005 | |||
| Born |
March 6, 1972 Stratford, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) | ||
| Weight | 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb) | ||
| Position | Centre | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for |
New York Islanders Boston Bruins Buffalo Sabres Frankfurt Lions | ||
| NHL draft |
27th overall, 1990 New York Islanders | ||
| Playing career | 1992–2011 | ||
Playing career
editTaylor had an impressive junior career with the London Knights, ending his tenure with the team as their all-time points leader with 378 (later surpassed by Corey Perry with 380 points) and was drafted by the New York Islanders in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft (2nd round, 27th overall) He then played for the Islanders, Boston Bruins, and Buffalo Sabres in the National Hockey League, but was frequently sent between the NHL and the minor leagues before going overseas with the Frankfurt Lions of Germany's Deutsche Eishockey Liga before the 2006–07 season.
On July 16, 2009, Taylor agreed to a two-year contract with the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League, a team he had played for from 1999 to 2006 while he was signed to their NHL affiliate, the Buffalo Sabres.[2]
Coaching career
editOn August 31, 2011, the Rochester Americans announced that Taylor had been hired as their development coach for the 2011–12 season. Later that season, he was promoted to an assistant coach. On June 6, 2016, incoming Rochester head coach, Dan Lambert, opted not to retain Taylor on the Americans' staff.[3] Taylor subsequently joined the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, AHL affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins, as an assistant coach on August 2, 2016.[4]
On June 30, 2017, Taylor was named head coach of the Rochester Americans.[5] A few days before the start of the 2019–20 season, Taylor was called up by the Buffalo Sabres as an interim assistant coach when Don Granato was forced to take a medical leave of absence from the Sabres.[6]
On June 16, 2020, Taylor was relieved of his duties as coach, along with Amerks general manager, Randy Sexton, and assistant coaches Gord Dineen and Toby Petersen[7] Taylor led the Amerks to a 116-65-33 record across three seasons as head coach.
On October 23, 2020, he was hired as an assistant coach by the New Jersey Devils.[8]
Career statistics
editRegular season and playoffs
edit| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1988–89 | London Knights | OHL | 62 | 7 | 16 | 23 | 52 | 15 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 15 | ||
| 1989–90 | London Knights | OHL | 66 | 45 | 60 | 105 | 60 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 16 | ||
| 1990–91 | London Knights | OHL | 65 | 50 | 78 | 128 | 50 | 7 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 6 | ||
| 1991–92 | London Knights | OHL | 66 | 48 | 74 | 122 | 57 | 10 | 8 | 16 | 24 | 9 | ||
| 1992–93 | Capital District Islanders | AHL | 77 | 19 | 43 | 62 | 32 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1993–94 | Salt Lake Golden Eagles | IHL | 79 | 21 | 20 | 41 | 38 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | New York Islanders | NHL | 10 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | Denver Grizzlies | IHL | 78 | 38 | 48 | 86 | 47 | 14 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 10 | ||
| 1995–96 | New York Islanders | NHL | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | Utah Grizzlies | IHL | 50 | 18 | 23 | 41 | 60 | 22 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 26 | ||
| 1996–97 | New York Islanders | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1996–97 | Utah Grizzlies | IHL | 71 | 27 | 40 | 67 | 24 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 1997–98 | Utah Grizzlies | IHL | 79 | 28 | 56 | 84 | 66 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 1998–99 | Providence Bruins | AHL | 21 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 37 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | Las Vegas Thunder | IHL | 14 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1999–00 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 49 | 21 | 28 | 49 | 21 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1999–00 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 11 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2000–01 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 45 | 20 | 24 | 44 | 25 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 14 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 77 | 21 | 45 | 66 | 66 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2002–03 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 61 | 12 | 55 | 67 | 44 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 | ||
| 2002–03 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 11 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 54 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 24 | 9 | 18 | 27 | 20 | 16 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 0 | ||
| 2004–05 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 79 | 21 | 58 | 79 | 50 | 9 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 4 | ||
| 2005–06 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 32 | 11 | 26 | 37 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Frankfurt Lions | DEL | 52 | 12 | 34 | 46 | 80 | 8 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 8 | ||
| 2007–08 | Frankfurt Lions | DEL | 56 | 17 | 49 | 66 | 48 | 12 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 6 | ||
| 2008–09 | Frankfurt Lions | DEL | 52 | 15 | 34 | 49 | 60 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 2009–10 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 80 | 17 | 44 | 61 | 89 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | ||
| 2010–11 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 72 | 10 | 41 | 51 | 38 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 149 | 11 | 21 | 32 | 48 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||||
Coaching record
edit| Team | Year | Regular Season | Post Season | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | L | T | OTL | Pts | Finish | Result | ||
| ROC | 2017–18 | 76 | 37 | 22 | - | 17 | 91 | 3rd, North | Lost in Round 1 |
| ROC | 2018–19 | 76 | 46 | 23 | - | 7 | 99 | 2nd, North | Lost in Round 1 |
| ROC | 2019-20 | 62 | 33 | 20 | - | 9 | 75 | 2nd, North | Season Cancelled |
Awards and honours
edit| Award | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| AHL | ||
| Fred T. Hunt Memorial Award | 2004–05 | [9] |
References
edit- ^ "Chris Taylor leaves Sabres to resume duties as coach of Rochester". The Buffalo News. 2019-11-23. Retrieved 2019-11-26.
- ^ Oklobzija, Kevin (2009-07-16). "Chris Taylor is an Amerk again". Democrat and Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2011-07-09. Retrieved 2011-03-13.
- ^ Vogl, John. "Amerks hire two new assistant coaches, let go of Taylor". Buffalo News. Archived from the original on 13 August 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
- ^ "Chris Taylor, J.D. Forrest Named Penguins Assistant Coaches". WBS Penguins. Archived from the original on 6 August 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
- ^ "Amerks bring Chris Taylor back to Rochester as head coach". The Buffalo News. June 30, 2017.
- ^ "Sabres, Amerks announce coaching staff update". AHL. October 1, 2019.
- ^ Rochester Americans (June 16, 2020). "Sabres Announce Changes to Amerks Hockey Department".
- ^ New Jersey Devils (October 23, 2020). "Release: Devils Hire Two Coaches".
- ^ "Fred T. Hunt Memorial Award". American Hockey League. 2010-07-21. Archived from the original on 2010-09-17. Retrieved 2010-07-21.
External links
edit- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database