David Andrew Taylor (born December 4, 1955) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

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 played in 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) with the

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

from

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

. Following his playing career, he served as the Kings' general manager from

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, and currently serves as Vice President of Hockey Operations with the NHL's

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the s ...

Early life

Taylor was born and raised in Levack,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, a mining town located 45 km northwest of

Sudbury, Ontario Sudbury, officially the City of Greater Sudbury is the largest city in Northern Ontario by population, with a population of 166,004 at the 2021 Canadian Census. By land area, it is the largest in Ontario and the fifth largest in Canada. It is a ...

. He began playing minor hockey in Levack and became a young prodigy in the small town. In his teens, he attended his local Levack High School while also working in the mine in his hometown.

Junior and college career

Taylor found himself playing Junior A for his hometown

Onaping Falls Huskies The Onaping Falls Huskies were a Junior "A" ice hockey team from Onaping Falls, Ontario, Onaping Falls, Ontario, Canada. This defunct hockey team was a part of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL). History As the Levack Miners, the ...

of the

Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League The Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL) is a Canadian Junior ice hockey league and member of the Canadian Junior Hockey League and Northern Ontario Hockey Association. The winner of the NOJHL playoffs competes for the Dudley Hewitt Cup ...

in 1973 where he recorded 67 goals and 76 assist to total 143 points in 45 games. After one season with Onaping Falls with him graduating from high school. Taylor played three seasons of college hockey at

Clarkson University Clarkson University is a private research university with its main campus in Potsdam, New York, and additional graduate program and research facilities in the New York Capital Region and Beacon, New York. It was founded in 1896 and has an enr ...

, where he still holds the school record for career points (251) goals (98) and assists (153) as well as single season goals (41) assists (67) and points (108) in the 1976-77 campaign where he led all of NCAA that year and won the

ECAC Hockey ECAC Hockey is one of the six conferences that compete in NCAA Division I ice hockey. The conference used to be affiliated with the Eastern College Athletic Conference, a consortium of over 300 colleges in the eastern United States. This relati ...

player of the year award. in comparison, opposing teams scored a combined 127 goals on Clarkson that year. Taylor also played 7 games with the

Fort Worth Texans The Fort Worth Texans were a professional ice hockey team based in Fort Worth, Texas. They started play in 1967 as the Fort Worth Wings, a minor league affiliate for the Detroit Red Wings. They were part of the Central Hockey League and played t ...

of the

Central Hockey League The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which opera ...

during the 1976–77 season putting up 2 goals and 4 assists for 6 points.

NHL career

Taylor was selected 210th overall in the 15th round of the

1975 NHL Amateur Draft The 1975 NHL Amateur Draft was the 13th NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the NHL office in Montreal, Quebec. The two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Philadelphia Flyers made the most noise at the draft, trading Bill Clement, Don McLean, and t ...

and was also selected 113th overall in the 9th round of the

1975 WHA Amateur Draft The 1975 WHA Amateur Draft was the third draft held by the World Hockey Association. __NOTOC__ Selections by Round Below are listed the selections in the 1975 WHA Amateur Draft. Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 Round 6 Round 7 ...

. His first NHL season was the 1977–78 season where he played 64 of 80 games and recorded 22 goals and 21 assists to total 43 points. In the next season of 1978–79, he improved to one of the leagues top scorers recording 43 goals and 48 assists to total 91 points. Taylor was a member of the famous

Triple Crown Line The three forwards – the centre, right wing and left wing – operate as a unit called a line. The tradition of naming the threesomes who compose the hockey teams' lines of attack extends back to the inaugural 1917–18 NHL season, when Did ...

along with hall of fame

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

Marcel Dionne Marcel Elphège "Little Beaver" Dionne (born August 3, 1951) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers. Marcel Dionn ...

and

left winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

Charlie Simmer Charles Robert Simmer (born March 20, 1954) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward, most notably for the Los Angeles Kings in the National Hockey League, who was known for his scoring prowess. Playing career After a junior career w ...

. In the 1980–81 season all three scored more than 100 points in the with the Kings with Dionne and Simmer scoring 135 and 105 points, respectively and Taylor scoring 112 points to record the best season of his career. Taylor became captain of the Kings in 1985 after the departure of preceding captain

Terry Ruskowski Terry W. "Roscoe" Ruskowski (born December 31, 1954) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre and coach, who played for the Chicago Black Hawks, Los Angeles Kings, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Minnesota North Stars in the National Hockey Le ...

. He held the position until 1989 when it was overtaken by

Wayne Gretzky Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...

. He would then serve as an alternate captain for the rest of his career. In 1991, Taylor won the

Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy The Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to the National Hockey League player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to ice hockey. It is named after Bill Masterton, the only player in NHL h ...

for his dedication towards the Los Angeles Kings. He also won the

King Clancy Memorial Trophy The King Clancy Memorial Trophy is a sports award given annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and who has made a significant humanitarian contribution to his community. The ...

for his involvement in charity work and for helping others overcome speech impediments. In

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

, with his production rapidly declining, Taylor and the Los Angeles Kings made the

Stanley Cup Finals The Stanley Cup Finals in ice hockey (also known as the Stanley Cup Final among various media, french: Finale de la Coupe Stanley) is the National Hockey League's (NHL) championship series to determine the winner of the Stanley Cup, North America ...

with him producing 3 goals and 5 assists for 8 points in 22 playoff games. The Kings lost to the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

in the final in 5 games. Taylor retired in 1994 as he was becoming less active in the NHL and his points were starting to deteriorate. Until 2019, he held the Kings record for games played with 1,111 until it was broken by Dustin Brown and then

Anže Kopitar Anže Kopitar (, born 24 August 1987) is a Slovene professional ice hockey centre and captain of the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL). The 11th overall pick in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, Kopitar became the first Slovene to ...

. He is the lowest-drafted player to net 1,000 career points, drafted in the 15th round (210th overall) of the 1975 NHL draft and has appeared in four NHL All-Star Games in 1981, 1982, 1986 and 1994. The Los Angeles Kings have retired #18 in his honor.

International career

Taylor represented

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in the

Ice Hockey World Championships The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual international men's ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). First officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics, it is the sport's highest profile annua ...

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

and

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

. During those tournaments, he recorded 7 goals and 10 assists for 17 points in 30 games. Canada won bronze in 1983 and 1986 and also won a silver in 1985.

Front office

Taylor was hired as the General Manager of the Los Angeles Kings in 1997 and held the position until 2006, when a front office reshuffling saw him assume the position of Director of Amateur Development. He also drafted future Kings superstars which include

, Dustin Brown and

Jonathan Quick Jonathan Douglas Quick (born January 21, 1986) is an American professional ice hockey goaltender for the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL). Quick was selected in the third round, 72nd overall, by Los Angeles at the 2005 NHL ...

. With a record of 290-261-74-31, Taylor was the winningest GM in Kings’ history. He later moved to the

Dallas Stars The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and were founde ...

and served as the team's Director of Player Personnel for three seasons. Taylor was hired by the

on July 1, 2010, as Vice President of Hockey Operations. He won the

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

with the Blues in

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

and returned to his hometown of Levack with the cup.

Personal

Because of his success, Taylor is considered a hero in his hometown of Levack and the arena there features a lot of dedication to him. Taylor has dealt with

stuttering Stuttering, also known as stammering, is a speech disorder in which the flow of speech is disrupted by involuntary repetitions and prolongations of sounds, syllables, words, or phrases as well as involuntary silent pauses or blocks in which the ...

since childhood. The

speech disorder Speech disorders or speech impairments are a type of communication disorder in which normal speech is disrupted. This can mean stuttering, lisps, etc. Someone who is unable to speak due to a speech disorder is considered mute. Speech skills ar ...

once forced him to drop a college class when he discovered that an

oral presentation Public speaking, also called oratory or oration, has traditionally meant the act of speaking face to face to a live audience. Today it includes any form of speaking (formally and informally) to an audience, including pre-recorded speech deliver ...

would be required. When interviewed after games early in his professional hockey career, Taylor would attempt to conceal his stuttering by faking

hyperventilation Hyperventilation is irregular breathing that occurs when the rate or tidal volume of breathing eliminates more carbon dioxide than the body can produce. This leads to hypocapnia, a reduced concentration of carbon dioxide dissolved in the blood. ...

as a means of providing him with fluency. Taylor credits Los Angeles-based Speech-Language Pathologist Vivian Sheehan for assisting him in his triumph over stuttering. Taylor and his wife Beth currently reside near

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

with their two daughters, Jamie and Katie.Dave Taylor Vice President of Hockey Operations http://blues.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=63247

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Dave 1955 births Living people AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy winners Canadian ice hockey right wingers Clarkson Golden Knights men's ice hockey players Dallas Stars executives Houston Aeros draft picks Ice hockey people from Ontario Sportspeople from Greater Sudbury King Clancy Memorial Trophy winners Los Angeles Kings draft picks Los Angeles Kings executives Los Angeles Kings players National Hockey League All-Stars National Hockey League executives National Hockey League players with retired numbers St. Louis Blues executives