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K-Wings welcome back team record holder Taylor

K-Wings welcome back team record holder Taylor

Wednesday, July 19th

KALAMAZOO, Mich. —The Kalamazoo Wings have re-signed center Justin Taylorfor the 2017-18 season.

The K-Wings are the ECHL affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League and the Utica Comets of the American Hockey League.

Taylor, 28, appeared in 70 games last season and combined 32 goals with 29 assists for a career-high 61 points during the 2016-17 campaign with the K-Wings. Taylor’s goals, assists and points total all set new career highs, and his 61 total points led all Kalamazoo skaters on the season.

He enters his seventh year with the Kalamazoo Wings in 2017-18 and his eighth professional season overall. Since his debut in 2010, Taylor has logged 444 career ECHL games while tallying 300 points (147g-153a).

The native of Mindemoya, Ontario is Kalamazoo's ECHL all-time leader in goals (137) and points (281) in a career. He ranks second all-time in the team’s ECHL history in games played with 396, and needs to appear in 12 games to pass Sam Ftorek for the all-time franchise mark.

The center has qualified for the postseason in each of his first seven professional seasons and has scored 41 points (21g-20a) in 72 career playoff games. Taylor has appeared in three Conference Finals (2011- Kalamazoo, 2012-Kalamazoo, 2013-Idaho) and one Kelly Cup Finals (2011-Kalamazoo).

Before turning pro in 2010, Taylor skated in 231 games with the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League and amassed 202 points (102g-100a).

Taylor was a sixth-round selection (180 overall) of the Washington Capitals in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. He appeared in 15 games in the American Hockey League in 2010-11 with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.