And his hard work eventually paid off. While Taylor did not return to the first line, he moved from being a healthy scratch to playing with sophomores Kevin Du and Steve Mandes. The combination of speed and vision has served the line well, and it has been very successful in generating scoring chances.
BOY FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY
Despite the change, Taylor’s production has remained low. The former recipient of an All-State Honorable Mention in Minnesota only has two goals and four assists on the season—and he hasn’t netted one since November 26th.
But coming to Harvard has been a huge transition for Taylor. Along with dealing with all the problems freshmen face during their first year of college—making new friends, eating cafeteria food, and doing his own laundry—Taylor has also had to adjust to playing a very different style of hockey.
Born and raised in the Gopher State, he’s hundreds of miles from home and playing in a hockey environment that is quite unlike the one he’s been used to. In comparison to the huge crowds and crazy fans of Minnesota, Bright Hockey Center presents a relatively calm ambience.
“At the beginning it was tough,” Taylor said. “I missed home a lot—I had never been away from home. The culture is a little different [at Harvard]. Here, people still like hockey, but it’s not religion like it is back home.”
When things have been rough, however, the team has been very supportive of Taylor and the other freshmen. Rather than hazing the rookies, the upperclassmen have made the younger players feel right at home in the new system.
Interestingly, of all the players on the team, Taylor looks up to assistant captain Ryan Lannon the most. Lannon, though a defenseman and one of the more quiet players on the team, has set an example for Taylor with his strong work ethic and his fiery play which has carried over into the latter’s performances on the ice.
“[Lannon] is probably one of the only guys who never plays a bad game,” Taylor said. “If I could play like anybody, I’d probably play like him.”
Even with the difficulties stemming from the first-year transition, Taylor hasn’t had too many bad games himself. While his points may be down, his play has been anything but substandard. Though it hasn’t necessarily shown on the scoreboard, the freshman forward has been instrumental in generating offense by virtue of his aggressive forecheck and solid defense.
Harvard head coach Ted Donato ’91, for one, is very impressed by Taylor.
“The thing that amazes me about Mike Taylor as a coach is that he is in the right spot and the right position all the time. For a guy that’s in his first year of college hockey, it’s amazing to see how positionally sound he is.
“He’s added a lot to whatever line he’s played for—whether that’s been with Tom Cavanagh and Brendan Bernakevitch or Kevin Du and Steve Mandes, which is right now. He’s an excellent player, and as a staff, we’re real excited about the future for Mike Taylor.”
That future begins now. The postseason is a fresh start and a chance to achieve things that remained undone in the regular season. With the NCAA tournament kicking off tomorrow, Taylor knows that he has a great opportunity to add to his already expansive list of hockey accomplishments. Having notched an assist against St. Lawrence in the ECAC tournament, Taylor’s hungry for more.
“The new season starts with the playoffs, and I’m excited about that,” he said. “[Hopefully], I’ll be able to produce more in the playoffs.”
—Staff writer Karan Lodha can be reached at klodha@fas.harvard.edu.