By Tim Ubels (Contributor) – Email
Print Edition: February 27, 2013
About three or four years ago, current Abbotsford Heat goaltender Danny Taylor, who at the time had just been assigned to an ECHL club called the Wheeling Nailers, was so disappointed with his demotion to a lower league team that he decided to sing about it.
The song, which can be found on Justin Bourne’s blog at The Score, is entitled, “Death’s Better Than Wheeling” and includes hilarious lyrics about the heartbreak of a demoted hockey player. Although Taylor didn’t write the lyrics to the satiric tune, he convincingly laments how the trainer, “found me in my hiding place, in the laundry room,” and implores the coach not to send him “to the land of NASCAR and missing teeth.”
Last Sunday in Dallas, Texas, Calgary Flames head coach Bob Hartley informed 26-year-old Danny Taylor that he would get his first National Hockey League start against the Phoenix Coyotes on February 18.
Taylor, now in his second season in the Flames organization, had bounced around the American Hockey League and ECHL early in his career before finding a steady job in Abbotsford. Taylor has impressed the Flames brass this season by posting phenomenal numbers with their Heat affiliate. He boasts an AHL best 1.82 GAA, is ranked fourth in the league with a .929 save percentage playing with the Heat this season, and earned himself a two-way contract with the Flames on February 6. With workhorse goalie Mikka Kiprusoff sidelined with a sprained knee, Leland Irving demoted to the Heat, and recently-acquired veteran Joey MacDonald needing a rest, Danny Taylor became the forth goaltender to start in the Flames’ crease this season.
The British-born tender started his career in Los Angeles, after being selected 221st overall by the Kings in the 2004 draft. His start against the Coyotes on February 18 was Taylor’s first NHL action since his big league debut with the Los Angeles Kings back on March 29, 2008, where he played the third period of an out of control game against the Dallas Stars. Almost five years removed from a 7-2 mop-up game, Taylor attempted to add an NHL win to his already impressive AHL resume.
In the end, the outcome of the game wasn’t what Taylor or Flames fans were looking for. In a 4-0 game where Danny Taylor gave up a quick goal in the first period and the Flames couldn’t get anything going offensively, the young goalie managed to make 37 stops and impressed some of the Flames brass with his confidence and ability to recover after giving up an early goal. In an interview with TSN, Flames coach Bob Hartley praised Taylor’s solid play in net, saying, “He was very calm and poised for his first start in the NHL.”
Taylor will likely stay with the Flames for the time being, serving as a backup to the more experienced Joey MacDonald until the return of the injured Mikka Kiprusoff. However, with his strong showing in a tough game against Phoenix, look for Taylor to get another shot with the Flames in the near future, as the 14th placed Calgary Flames try to claw their way out of the Western Conference basement and back into playoff contention.
