Player's Profile
- Name: Daniel Taylor
- Position: G
- Catches: Left
- Height: 6-1
- Weight: 177 lbs
- Birthdate: 1986-04-28
- Eligible for Draft: 2004
- Drafted:
- Hometown: Plymouth, UK
- Acquired: 7th round (#221 overall), 2004
- Playing In: Pro
Daniel Taylor
Prospect Grade: 5.5 C (About Prospect Grades)
Profile Contributed By: David A. Rainer
History
The Los Angeles Kings brought into the organization a British goaltender for the second time in their history - having selected Daniel Taylor in the 7th round of the 2004 Entry Draft. Taylor was born in Plymouth, United Kingdom, but was playing for Guelph of the OHL when drafted.
2003-04: Starred as the back-up goaltender for the Champion Guelph Storm while posting a stellar 16-4-3 mark. Stuck behind a championship starting goaltender, hopefully Taylor will find himself in a situation where he will receive more ice-time soon. Turned in an excellent performance at the Kings Prospect Camp giving up 1 goal in a period and a half, but show-casing both solid fundamentals and good athleticism in stopping some high percentage shots.
2004-05: Surpassing his rookie totals from the 2003-04 season in games played (31), goals-against average (2.64), save percentage (.911) and shutouts (2), Taylor quickly became the “go-to” goaltender for Guelph from October through January. In that four-month stretch, Taylor posted an 11-8-3 record with a goals-against average of 2.24 and a save percentage of .922.
2005-06: Finished his juniors eligibility, going 32-15-3 after a pre-season trade to Kingston. Goals against average slightly off (3.11), but save percentage improved (.911) while scoring was up across the league. Went 2-3-0 in the playoffs for Kingston before signing a contract with Los Angeles during the offseason.
2006-07: Signed a contract with Los Angeles and spent most of the 2006-07 season in Bakersfield with both Munce and Fukufuji ahead of him on the depth charts. Later assigned to Texas of the ECHL. His 4.33 goals-against average and .872 save percentage with Bakersfield were nothing to be proud of, even for the ECHL. He did play better in a very short stint with Texas.
Talent Analysis
Taylor has good all around skills as a goaltender. He covers the bottom of the net well with nice lateral movement and a surprisingly quick glove hand. He does a good job of not allowing rebounds and absorbing the puck on shots from the outside. He sometimes can find himself pushed around a bit on jam-ins from in front of the net, but the strength to prevent this will come with age and maturity.
Future
Taylor joins the professional ranks after a stellar major junior career when he signed a contract with the Kings during the 2006 offseason. With the goaltending pipeline muddled in Manchester and Reading, Taylor is left to fit for a spot somewhere in the system. Taylor projects as a solid and reliable goaltender, but does not have the star-quality that will steal a game for his team. Taylor might spend a great deal of time in the ECHL/AHL in his career.
Stats
| Year |
Team |
League |
GP |
W- L- T |
GAA |
SA% |
SO |
| 2003-04 |
Guelph |
OHL |
26 |
16- 4- 3 |
2.71 |
.900 |
0 |
| Guelph* |
OHL |
3 |
1- 1- 0 |
3.40 |
.857 |
0 |
|
| 2004-05 |
Guelph |
OHL |
31 |
13-14- 3 |
2.64 |
.911 |
2 |
| Guelph* |
OHL |
1 |
0- 1- 0 |
4.07 |
.900 |
0 |
|
| 2005-06 |
Kingston |
OHL |
57 |
32-15- 3 |
3.11 |
.911 |
3 |
| Kingston* |
OHL |
5 |
2- 3- 0 |
2.80 |
.918 |
1 |
|
| 2006-07 | Bakersfield | ECHL | 17 | 7-7-2 | 4.33 | .872 | 0 |
| Wheeling | ECHL | 1 | 0-0-1 | 3.86 | .833 | 0 | |
| Texas | ECHL | 2 | 0-1-0 | 1.61 | .905 | 0 |
*=playoffs
Yellow=season in progress
Profile Last Updated: March, 4th 2008
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