Brendan Taylor wasn’t sure coaching would be the next step for him after his playing career ended.
He got his start behind the bench as an assistant coach with his hometown Jr. A team, and the rest is history.
A former Ontario Hockey League forward, Taylor joined the coaching staff of the Ontario Junior Hockey League’s Oakville Blades, a team that he, his father, and his brother had played for. It turned into a golden opportunity for the now 33-year-old, who was hired earlier this month by the Soo Greyhounds as an assistant coach.
“I’d like to say it was a natural one,” Taylor joked, when asked about transitioning into coaching. “But I’m sure [Oakville coach] Mike Tarantino, who gave me my first chance and really helped me, would say there were growing pains for sure like all young coaches or players.”
Taylor went on to say he “kind of fell into coaching.”
“I didn’t know that I would enjoy it as much as I did,” he added. “I realized pretty quickly that, surprisingly, I didn’t miss playing. I quickly found out that this was my passion in life, and I think it was what I was meant to do.”
Taylor spent two seasons on Tarantino’s coaching staff before making the jump to the OHL as a video coach with the Mississauga Steelheads in 2016.
“Doing the video was to get my foot in the door in the league,” Taylor said. “It was my third year of coaching at any level. I really got to learn and was able to really put together a program to focus on the development of the defencemen that we had in Mississauga.”
While the development aspect of the position was something he believed in heading into the position, Taylor said his time in Mississauga working with James Richmond and his coaching staff helped him learn that even more.
“I’m coaching the defence, but I’m really coaching each individual player to their unique needs and areas for growth,” Taylor said. “No two people are exactly alike, and no two players are exactly alike.”
“The focus should be on development, that’s what we’re here for in this league,” Taylor added. “Ultimately, we want to win, but the belief started that if you improve all of the players at your disposal, it’s going to improve your team, which hopefully leads to the ultimate goal of winning the league and getting to the Memorial Cup.”
Taylor was hired by the Greyhounds on Aug. 18 to fill the spot left when Jordan Smith was hired by the St. Louis Blues to join the coaching staff of their American Hockey League affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds.
“It was a very quick process,” Taylor said of joining the Greyhounds. “Initially I talked to Kyle and then he passed me on to John and Deaner and I had a really good chat. We met for lunch and then I was offered the job. It was incredibly fast and efficient and shows on the same page those two guys are and how the organization functions. It was really professional and really down to the point. It was a thorough, but detailed, process, but also something that had some real urgency to it.”
At the time of Taylor’s hiring, Greyhounds general manager Kyle Raftis said Taylor’s experience in Mississauga stood out.
“He’s done a great job in Mississauga over the past couple of years,” Raftis said. “He’s brought some defencemen that, whether it’s a CHL defenceman of the year (Nicolas Hague) or lots of draft picks that have come through there, sometimes those guys aren’t high picks and he deserves a lot of credit for that.”
“We wanted to bring someone in that was hungry for the position and was really motivated, but at the same time, it’s someone that has some coaching reps under them,” Raftis added.
Taylor spent two seasons in the OHL as a player, which included his rookie season where he was a teammate of Raftis with the Peterborough Petes in 2006-07.
Taylor started the following season with the Belleville Bulls before being traded to the Saginaw Spirit.
In Belleville, Taylor played for longtime OHL coach George Burnett, and said there is a lot that stands out about the veteran bench boss.
“How professional and how organized he was…he always cared about the well-being of his players,” Taylor said. “Playing for him and now coaching against him is a unique experience. Someone like George, he’s done it all and seen it all.”
“To have played for him and be able to learn under him and then see how well he’s continued to go coaching a different generation as he’s gotten older and still be able to achieve great success while holding dual roles in most places, he had high expectations on the ice, but he had high expectations off the ice,” Taylor added. “It was a lot about the well-being of the person, not just the hockey player.”