By: Brayden Peters
BROCKPORT, N.Y. - Brockport Golden Eagles hockey freshman forward Aidan Taylor was named to the UCHC All-Rookie Team. This came after Taylor finished the season with 11 points (four+seven) in 22 games played.
"I was kind of surprised, I didn't really know how any of that kind of stuff worked," Taylor said. "I don't follow college hockey that much...obviously I was shocked, I was obviously happy, all those types of emotions. I just called and texted my family just to see how excited and happy they were for me. I thought it was just a really cool moment for me and my family and it was awesome."
Brockport head coach Brian Dickinson was happy to see that one of his players got recognized by the conference.
"It's always a proud moment as a coach when your players get recognized by the other coaches," Dickinson said. "We throw up the nominantions. Obviously Tayls (Taylor) was very worthy of not just an All-Rookie selection, we nominated him for All-Conference, we thought he had a pretty good year within the conference. Really developed throughout the year and came on really solid in the second half...it always makes you feel good when you recruit somebody, they come in, they meet the potential as a freshman that you envisioned for them," Dickinson said. "The sky's the limit for Aidan now that he's had played some meaningful minutes for a year and now he'll have that experience and take that into the offseason. He knows what he needs to work on to improve, so we are excited for what the future holds for him."
Before coming to Brockport, Taylor spent his time in the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) with the Oakville Blades. Last season, he posted 27 points (10 + 17) in 45 games played.
"He really pays attention to the details of being a puck handler and a puck mover," Dickinson said. "He's got a really deceptive shot, but he loves distributing the puck...he was a little bit more than half a point a game in the OJ(HL) which is pretty good. We knew that we were going to have to get some more goal scorers or guys that can create offense at least as we made the switch into the UCHC knowing what the schedule was going to be like," Dickinson said. "That makes it easy to take a chance on a guy like Aidan. Fortunately for us, his game was something that we needed. Our opportunity was something that he was looking forward to and it ended up being a really good match."
Taylor joined the team with three other freshmen Canadians that included forwards Joseph Nikac, Sacha Trudel and goalie Dax Easter. The team was composed of all Americans last season. Bringing in Canadian talent was something Dickinson hoped for entering the 2024-2025 season.
"They play against good players every single night," Dickinson said. "They know so many different players, so when it comes to recruiting, we're in on guys that they played with in the past and they know that for us to get better, we got to get more players in. So, when we're looking for that next, in this case, Canadian hockey player, you got guys that'll come down here...and have success and then are talking about the positive experiences they've had on and off the ice at Brockport," Dickinson said. "I think from the way they're brought up and the opportunities that are presented to them, especially for guys that live in and around the Toronto area. In addition to a Tim Horton's on every corner, there's a rink on every corner. Those guys can get as much ice time as they possibly need to develop their game."
The transition to the collegiate level was an adjustment for Taylor.
"There was a little bit of a bumpy start," Taylor said. "I had a bit of a rough patch. I thought after break, I kind of found my game and obviously I was playing with some really good players. That obviously helps for sure."
He had three multi-point games and in nine games from Jan. 18 to Feb. 14, he posted seven points (three + four).
It wasn't easy for Taylor to produce at a conistent level given how the Golden Eagles' season went. They finished the year 6-18-2, last in the UCHC and were eliminated in the first round of playoffs by Manhattanville 4-1 on Feb. 26.
"I kind of just try to take it game by game and try to forget about it, like shrug it off," Taylor said. "Coming in the rink everyday, looking forward to playing hockey. Every time I kind of dwell on things, it usually affects me in the next game, next practice or next shift. Just trying to move forward, every day is a new day, new game to play better, be better, try to win. I say try to shrug it off and move forward."
Taylor and the Golden Eagles will prepare and look ahead to their second season in the UCHC next year.
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