There were more commonalities than point totals when new Kraken assistant coach Chris Taylor and his now general manager, Jason Botterill, tore up the scoring ranks together for the AHL Rochester Americans some 22 years ago.
Left wing Botterill, that 2002-03 season led the “Amerks” with 37 goals while centerman and linemate Taylor, 53, hired this week along with Colin Zulianello and Aaron Schneekloth to new Kraken head coach Lane Lambert’s staff, compiled a club-best 55 assists and 67 total points. Beyond finishing 1-2 in team scoring, with Botterill second in points at 59, the duo had the distinction of having been drafted in the first round in the Kraken GM’s case and the second round for Taylor, without ever truly meeting NHL expectations.
They say the best coaches are those who’d struggled to reach the pinnacle as players, providing wisdom about what it takes to finally make it and stick. And who appreciates tribulations young players go through.
Though concussions ultimately ended Botterill’s professional career, while Taylor didn’t truly peak until his mid-30s with the Buffalo Sabres, they share common ground in fighting for every bit of limited NHL playing time and saving their best for post-playing days.
“It’s hard to make the NHL,” said Taylor, a former 50-goal man with the major junior Ontario Hockey League’s London Knights, who subsequently managed only 11 goals and 21 assists over 149 NHL contests with the New York Islanders, Boston Bruins and Sabres after being taken 27th overall in 1990. “And even when you do make the NHL, it’s how you stay. How you survive. How you get better.
“Sometimes, I think people don’t think you can develop once you get to the NHL, or you don’t have to develop. But I think you keep developing at every stage of your game. And that taught me a lot of lessons. You know, different things I would have done differently at an earlier age or taken ownership of.”
Perhaps that’s why Taylor had such a successful run as a New Jersey Devils assistant coach for five years through last month. Working primarily with young forwards that included Jack Hughes, Jesper Bratt, Dawson Mercer, Alexander Holtz and Timo Meier, Taylor helped guide the Devils to the playoffs two of the past three seasons with the NHL’s third-best power play this past campaign at 28.2%.
It was a bit of a “takes one to know one” situation, as Taylor, who had his best NHL season at age 34 in a career high 54 games for Buffalo, was every bit the AHL offensive threat he’d been touted as coming out of junior hockey. He sits third all-time in Rochester assists at 339, fifth in points at 481, and resides in that storied franchise’s Hall of Fame.
And Taylor kept on playing pro – including three years in Germany – until retiring at age 39 in 2010-11 after returning for two final Rochester campaigns.
“Everybody kept telling me ‘Play as long as you can, ’” he said. “So, I did. I played as long as I could and told myself at the end I’d gotten as much as I wanted out of hockey. But the last couple of years, I was really watching what coaches were doing and looking at whether this was really something I wanted to do.”
Kraken GM Botterill, who played 88 NHL games for Dallas, Atlanta, Boston, and Buffalo after the Stars took him 20th overall in 1994, appreciates how Taylor thrived later in his hockey life both as a player and coach.
“What I liked about Chris is what I saw later in his career – he played games in Buffalo, right?” Botterill said. “And what I loved about our interaction was, it didn’t matter the age, he was still looking to improve. He was a player who was always trying to work on his game, add different dynamics. And that’s why it was great to see him get the bulk off his NHL games later in his career.”
While playing together at Rochester that magical 2002-03 season, both at even strength and on power plays, the pair forged a friendship that extended off the ice.
