The latest Badger to turn pro, defenceman Zach Taylor of Brock’s men’s hockey team signed a contract to join the Rapid City Rush on March 20th. Based out of Rapid City, South Dakota, the Rush are the ECHL affiliate of the NHL’s Calgary Flames.
Taylor is the second Badger to sign with a professional team in the past week after goaltender Connor Ungar signed a two-year entry-level contract with the Edmonton Oilers on March 18th. Taylor’s signing also marks the 54th professional contract signed by a Brock men’s hockey player, 27 of which have been signed in the last six years.
Hailing from Sault St. Marie, Ontario, Taylor’s move to South Dakota is just the latest in a hockey journey that has had a lot of stops. Taylor began his youth career as a highly productive player for the Soo Greyhounds AAA squad. At age 14, Taylor opted to move to the highly prestigious The Hill Academy prep team, a school that previously taught notable NHLers like Mitch Marner, Cole Perfetti and Thomas Harley, as well as prospects Shane Wright and Brandt Clarke.
After a year at The Hill, Taylor went on to have a four-year career playing Junior A and Junior B hockey in the OJHL and GOJHL. In his final season in 2019-20, Taylor was an alternate captain for the Collingwood Colts of the OJHL, scoring 18 points in 20 games.
After the pandemic, Taylor joined the Badgers for the 2021-22 season where he had five assists in six games. In 2022-23, Taylor found himself in a bigger role, playing 26 regular season games and scoring six goals and 19 points in that period. Taylor scored his first goal with the Badgers in a 6-4 loss to TMU on Oct. 22nd 2022 as part of a three-point that saw him grab two assists in a third-period comeback effort.
The well-deserved contract offer from the Rush capped off what was a phenomenal 2023-24 season for Taylor. After two seasons with the Badgers, Taylor took his game to another level in his third campaign, setting new career-highs with seven goals and 23 points, good for fourth and fifth in the entire OUA respectively.
Thanks to his strong offensive performance, Taylor was named the OUA West’s Defenceman of the Year and was selected to the OUA’s first All-Star team.
Brock head coach TJ Manastersky had strong praise for Taylor over the course of the season.
“[Taylor] is a calm and composed hockey player who can assert himself at the right moment.” said Manastersky after Taylor’s All-Star selection. “His ability to create offence at even strength and on the powerplay sets him apart.”
After Taylor signed with the Rush, Manastersky added on, telling Gobadgers.ca that Taylor was a “well-liked teammate” and that the Badgers will “miss him and wish him great success.”
So far, Taylor seems to have acclimated himself well to the pro climate, notching assists in both of his first two games. While he may no longer be a Badger, we’ll all be cheering for him and hoping he can continue to play the poised, dynamic offensive game that made him stand out on the Brock blueline.
