Chris Taylor (born March 6, 1972) is a Canadian former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

player who is currently an assistant coach with the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional sports, professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL). He played in 149 NHL games with the

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

, and

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...

. In 2017, Taylor was named the head coach of the

Rochester Americans The Rochester Americans (colloquially known as the Amerks) are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League; the team is an owned and operated affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home games in Rochester, New York, a ...

in the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

, the affiliate of the

. In 2019, he was recalled by the Sabres as an assistant coach on an interim basis and returned to the Americans in late November, staying until June 2020.

Playing career

Taylor had an impressive junior career with the

London Knights The London Knights are a junior ice hockey team from London, Ontario, Canada, playing in the Ontario Hockey League, one of the leagues of the Canadian Hockey League. The Knights started out in 1965 as the London Nationals but changed to their cu ...

, ending his tenure with the team as their all-time points leader with 378 (later surpassed by

Corey Perry Corey Perry (born May 16, 1985) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player for the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL). He played the first 14 years of his career with the Anaheim Ducks. He then played for the Dallas Stars ...

with 380 points) and was drafted by the

in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft (2nd round, 27th overall) He then played for the Islanders,

, and

in the

, but was frequently sent between the NHL and the minor leagues before going overseas with the

Frankfurt Lions The Frankfurt Lions were a German professional men's ice hockey club from Frankfurt, Germany that played in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. The club ceased operations in 2010 due to financial difficulty. History The hockey team was founded as a se ...

of Germany's

Deutsche Eishockey Liga The Deutsche Eishockey Liga (for sponsorship reasons called "PENNY Deutsche Eishockey Liga") (; English: ''German Ice Hockey League'') or DEL, is a German professional ice hockey league and the highest division in German ice hockey. Founded in ...

before the 2006–07 season. On July 16, 2009, Taylor agreed to a two-year contract with the

of the

, a team he had played for from 1999 to 2006 while he was signed to their NHL affiliate, the Buffalo Sabres.

Coaching career

On 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 Daniel Lambert (born January 12, 1970) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 29 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Quebec Nordiques. He is currently assistant coach of the Nashville Predators of the Natio ...

, opted not to retain Taylor on the Americans' staff. Taylor subsequently joined the

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, and are the AHL affiliates of the National Hockey League's Pittsburgh Penguins. They play at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre ...

, AHL affiliate of the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

, as an assistant coach on August 2, 2016. On June 30, 2017, Taylor was named head coach of the Rochester Americans. 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 Don Granato (born August 11, 1967) is an American professional ice hockey coach and former player. He is the head coach of the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League (NHL). Playing career After two years playing with the then named Madison ...

was forced to take a medical leave of absence from the Sabres. On June 16, 2020, Taylor was relieved of his duties as coach, along with Amerks general manager,

Randy Sexton Randy Sexton (born July 24, 1959) is a Canadian ice hockey executive, businessman and former athlete. He is the Senior Advisor to the General Manager for the Minnesota Wild. He was the assistant general manager for the Buffalo Sabres of the Nation ...

, and assistant coaches

Gord Dineen Gordon M. Dineen (born September 21, 1962) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. As of 2019, he is an assistant coach of the Rochester Americans. He is a former head coach for the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League, a ...

and

Toby Petersen Tobias Emanuel Petersen (born October 27, 1978) is an American former professional ice hockey right winger who formerly played for the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League (NHL). He attended Colorado College, and was drafted by the Pittsburg ...

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

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Coaching record

Awards and honours

References

External links

* 1972 births Living people Boston Bruins players Buffalo Sabres players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Germany Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey centres Canadian ice hockey coaches Capital District Islanders players Denver Grizzlies players Frankfurt Lions players Las Vegas Thunder players London Knights players New Jersey Devils coaches New York Islanders draft picks New York Islanders players Providence Bruins players Rochester Americans players Rochester Americans coaches Salt Lake Golden Eagles (IHL) players Sportspeople from Stratford, Ontario Utah Grizzlies (IHL) players {{Canada-icehockey-centre-1970s-stub