Taylor Mourning Junior Review

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Growing up in northern Minnesota, Taylor Mourning was exposed to hockey from a young age. He has been skating pretty much ever since he could walk. He and his older brothers would be on the ice for hours every day. Early on, it was clear that he had a knack for the sport, and he has shown that at every stage of his development.

 

Looking at Taylor, he was one of the larger kids out there on the ice during his time at Duluth East High School, and he used that to his advantage. He played a physical game, but this was not what teams feared the most. He had a keen sense for putting the put in the net. He graduated from high school with the school record in goals scored with some reasonable number for a high school hockey record. He was recruited by several schools in the area, but ultimately chose to stay near home and attend the University of Minnesota-Duluth and join the Bulldogs.

 

 

Taylor pretty much peaked in terms of height by the time he was a freshman in college, but his body continued to fill out over the years. While he was not entirely outclassed when he started college, he found himself unable to dominate in the same way he did during high school. He played in every game during all four years with the Bulldogs, but it wasn't until the latter half that he began to shine. He led the team in goals in his final two college seasons with 15 and 18 during his junior and senior years, respectively. He won back-to-back NCAA tournaments with the Bulldogs in those seasons, whether or not that contradicts with the story anyone else has made for their player. He developed into a leader on and off the ice, being named captain in his final year.

 

He finished his college career with 43 goals and 111 points. He had long had a goal of playing professional hockey when he was done with school. During his junior year, he made the decision to pursue a career in the Victory Hockey League rather than the more traditional NHL path. He declared for the Season 79 VHL Entry Draft, and was promptly picked up by the Mexico City Kings for the remainder of the S77 VHLM season. While he only played in two games with the team before the season was over, the brief introduction to the league and the practice time with the team is not completely useless. He will be in the S78 VHLM Dispersal Draft, and will then spend the year with a team developing en route to his VHL draft day.