National Rookie of the Year Award renamed for Tim Taylor

The press release:

The Hockey Commissioners Association (HCA) will name its Division I men’s National Rookie of the Year Award the Tim Taylor Award, commencing with the 2013-2014 season, it was announced today by HCA President Steve Hagwell of ECAC Hockey. The HCA first bestowed the award following the 2006-2007 season, with the award annually chosen by a vote of men’s Division I assistant coaches.


“Coach Taylor spent a good deal of his career identifying and developing young hockey players, whether during his time at Yale or through his many years with USA Hockey,” said Hagwell. “I can’t think of a better pairing than the young men who earn this award and the memory of Tim Taylor.”

Taylor, who passed away on April 27 following a four-year battle with cancer, spent 28 seasons at Yale and became the school’s winningest head coach with 337 victories. His tenure spanned the years 1976-2006, with two seasons on leave to coach in the Olympic Games, one as an assistant coach (1984) and one as head coach (1994).

A former Harvard University captain in the Class of 1963, Taylor began his coaching career at his alma mater, assisting both Ralph “Cooney” Weiland and Bill Cleary before heading to New Haven. Hockey East commissioner Joe Bertagna, who was coached by Taylor at Harvard and later coached with him on two Team USA squads, echoed Hagwell’s observations.


“Tim was a teacher his entire adult life,” remarked Bertagna. “Many of us saw this at the college level and we also watched in admiration as he helped assemble the U.S. junior teams that won gold medals in recent years. His impact on hockey in the United States is incalculable, given the number of players and coaches he influenced.”

In addition to the two Olympic assignments, Taylor coached Team USA to a silver medal in the 1991 Canada Cup, taking over for Bob Johnson, who suffered a stroke just prior to the start of the tournament. Taylor also served as Director of Player Personnel for the U.S. Junior National Team, most recently during this past year when Team USA won the gold medal in Ufa, Russia, in January of 2013.

Past Winners of the Division I Men’s Rookie of the Year Award

2007 - Andreas Nodl, Forward, St. Cloud State University
2008 - Richard Bachman, Goaltender, Colorado College
2009 - Kieran Millan, Goaltender, Boston University
2010 - Stephane daCosta, Forward, Merrimack College
2011 - T.J. Tynan, Forward, University of Notre Dame
2012 - Joey LaLeggia, Defenseman, University of Denver
2013 - Jon Gillies, Goaltender, Providence College