/FRASER, Mich. – Brock Taylor is one of a handful of Metro Jets players this season from out of town.
A 20-year-old Cadillac native, Taylor is enjoying his second season with the club after joining the team last season and winning a Fraser Cup national championship.
According to Taylor, leaving home to play for the Jets was a decision he’ll never regret.
“I heard about the Jets the year before I started playing here through a former coach,” said Taylor. “He helped me get the opportunity to come down and practice with the team for a few days, and I immediately knew this was where I wanted to be. Everything about the Jets environment was top notch and professional, so I continued to stay in touch with (Jets assistant coach) Randy Wilson and came back for the main camp, where I was fortunate enough to get a contract.
“You will not find a better hockey program anywhere. The Jets organization gives each player every opportunity to not only be a better hockey player, but a better person. The entire coaching staff has an incredible amount of experience and knowledge, and they want to do anything they can to help you succeed. On top of that, you have all the ice time you want and the MAT to train and get stronger and stay healthy, both on and off the ice.”
And wining it all in his first year was icing on the cake for the talented forward.
“Last season was by far the most beneficial year I have had,” Taylor said. “With the coaches teaching us so much and pushing myself in practice against some incredible hockey players, along with working off the ice in the MAT, it really made a big impact on me. Plus, the leadership from the older guys was very helpful as well.
“I definitely still feel the excitement of winning the national championship, so I try and use that as motivation to get there again.”
Jets coach-GM Justin Quenneville said Taylor is another example of a raw player coming in and recognizing the process to climb the hockey ladder.
“Every coach wishes they had 10 Brocks in their program,” Quenneville said. “He is a team-first guy, driven, and reliable in every sense of the way. He has progressed so much with his skill set the past year. It’s paying off for him now, and the goal is to see him continue to get rewarded for his commitment to his development and the program. For a smaller guy, he’s done a great job buying in to being a two-way player and his versatility shows now.”
Taylor said he started playing hockey a bit later than most, beginning as a first-year Squirt. He grew up playing in Cadillac, all the way from the youth programs through high school.
“My dad has always been a huge hockey fan, so when I was nine, he told my brother and I that he wanted at least one of us to try playing, and I said I’d give it a shot,” remembered Taylor. “I fell in love with the game immediately.”
As a 1998 birth year, Taylor is looking to keep taking major strides this season before aging out of juniors.
“With this being my last season, I am trying to take everything one day at a time and work as hard as I can, on and off the ice, hopefully reaching the same outcome as last season,” Taylor said. “My long-term goal is to continue playing hockey in college next year and learn as much as I can to eventually become a coach. Our coaching staff has had such a positive impact on me, and that’s exactly how I want to be.
“I try and soak up as much as I can of everything they teach us so I can one day have an impact on others like the coaches have impacted me.”
