New Beginnings
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Tayjay
Registered Senior Member Code: Ready to Be Graded “I’ve gotten to know all of the people in that locker room and there isn’t a bad egg over there. Well, except Juni because Juni likes to fight a lot, but even Juni is nice. I’ve played with Ursin and Rhys since the Juniors and a couple others like Sato played in Anaheim as well. Veterans like Mika and Carpy were always there to help me with when I was a rookie or when I was struggling. Those first couple years were very hard for me as I tried to get accustomed to the physicality of the game. It really took a while for me to discover what my game was and they were always there. I also always got approval from the GM that I was on the right track and doing the right things. I like to think I was a team first player. Those are just a few of the things I’ll miss. “ As Season 59 came to a close, and due to the playoff structure at the time, Toronto would fail to qualify despite having a top 5 record in the league. With expansion looming it became more of a reality than a possibility that Taylor would be headed towards the expansion draft. “I knew it could happen. I talked to ml and we had a good discussion. I was kind of in this limbo where I was still developing and still had untapped potential but with the incredible depth of our team and legit underclassmen we had it may have been good for both sides if I tried to develop somewhere else. I was losing playing time, and in that last year I regressed a bit statistically. It’s hard to get everyone playing time and I think I was just starting to lose to some great skaters. I want the team to be great, but at the same time I want to be great or at least contribute in more of a role that I had been given here in Toronto. That’s nothing against management. They drafted well for years so it was bound to happen. If Last-Name and I must be the sacrificial lambs so they can survive then so be it. Look at what First-Name Last-Name has been doing in Philadelphia! He has been incredible there.” “One day, ml called me into his office, and I knew immediately that I was going to be exposed. It was a difficult decision, but those are decisions he gets paid to make. There wasn’t a guarantee I would get picked but it was almost a certainty teams would take me. Apparently, I had shown that I have what it takes to make it in this league. As the draft approached both General Managers dropped their branding and I paid close attention to the new teams.” “Which team would be my new home. I had good conversations with both guys and was very upfront with them that I would be committed and that I wanted a chance to prove that I could play first line minutes and make an impact. After the interviews, I spent the rest of the offseason training and representing Sweden in the IIHF. I had seen some mocks that saw my lower in the expansion draft, but I heard from both GM’s that I was high up on their lists. So maybe like top 10 I thought. On expansion draft day I never thought I would go third overall. That was such a huge accomplishment for me coming from UDFA to mid-late second rounder. Not the same as being a first round pick but to be taken 3rd in expansion, one of the first picks a team wants to spend on their new franchise, felt great. It's a massive responsibility but I think I’m up for it. That’s all I wanted was to share a larger piece of that leadership pie they talk about. First-Name Last-Name, the other North Star that was also up for expansion gotten taken immediately after me. Two Toronto players in the top 5 just goes to show how good Toronto was. The move to Montreal wasn't that bad either. Just a couple hours over, and I guess it cuts off a couple hours on my trips back home to Sweden. ” “So far this season my shots per game are at a career high and so are my minutes per game. The team has gotten off to a slow start, which is to be expected, which has stunted my scoring but I’m still trying to help as much as possible. My offensive and defensive grades per game are also at career highs. I should easily break my blocks and hits career numbers I set. While the results may not be immediate, it is a situation I feel comfortable in. I spent how many years losing in Toronto before we got good and now, I’m in a similar situation but I’m one of the elder guys now. So maybe all of those years were just preparing me for this.” “I’d just like to say that to all of my former teammates in Toronto that I’ll miss you and I really enjoyed the seasons we had together. I’ll be rooting for you guys, but not too hard since we are in the same division! To my new teammates, it may not be pretty now but stay the course. There will be bumps but it will be worth it, and I hope that I’ll be around to lead the torch!”
DeletedAtUserRequest
Registered Posting Freak
gurbs
Bank Manager Posting Freak
At least we will always have Team Sweden, so still teammates Hope the move to Montreal went well!
SHL Career Stats / Achievements S67 PHI | 66GP | 23G | 32A | 55P | +11 | 163sog | 14.11sh% | 1 ppp | 63 hit | 44 blk | 12 pim
S68 PHI | 66GP | 7 G | 29A | 36P | +12 | 113sog | 6.19 sh% | 0 ppp | 141hit | 26 blk | 20 pim
S69 PHI | 48GP | 3 G | 27A | 30P | +9 | 53 sog | 5.66 sh% | 0 ppp | 91 hit | 21 blk | 14 pim
Career Totals | 1040GP | 258G | 476A | 734P | 2507sog | 10.29sh% | 100pp | 1082hit | 673blk S63 PHI | 6 GP | 5 G | 1 A | 6 P | 0 | 19 sog | 26.32sh% | 0 ppp | 6 hit | 11 blk
[align=center]S64 PHI | 4 GP | 0 G | 2 A | 2 P | -2 | 2 sog | 0.00 sh% | 0 ppp | 6 hit | 2 blk S65 PHI | 7 GP | 3 G | 4 A | 7 P | +2 | 19 sog | 15.79sh% | 0 ppp | 11 hit | 3 blk S66 PHI | 7 GP | 1 G | 3 A | 4 P | -2 | 12 sog | 8.33 sh% | 0 ppp | 8 hit | 5 blk
Tayjay
Registered Senior Member
Dextaria
Registered Posting Freak
Forever a North Star in my eyes! Wish you all the best and we love you sticking around in the locker room
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