ECHL: Rapid City Rush Defenseman Signs to Play in Slovakia

Rapid City Rush defenseman Zach Taylor has signed to play with the HK 32 Liptovsky Mikulas in Tipos Estraliga, based in Slovakia. Taylor’s team will play in Liptovsky Mikulas, Slovakia.

Collegiate Career

Before joining the Rapid City Rush, Zach Taylor attended Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario, where he played for three seasons. In his last season at Brock University, Taylor played in 27 games where he had seven goals and 16 assists for 23 points and 22 penalty minutes. In his three seasons at Brock University, Taylor played 59 games where he had 13 goals and 34 assists for 47 points as well as 38 penalty minutes. Taylor also played in the playoffs at Brock University all three years, playing in 16 post-season games where he had two goals and three assists for five points and six penalty minutes.

Professional Career

After the conclusion of Zach Taylor’s 2023-24 collegiate season, Taylor signed professionally with the Rapid City Rush. After joining the Rush late in the season, Taylor only played in seven games but averaged a point a game with one goal and six assists for seven points. He had four penalty minutes and a plus/minus of +4.

Effect on the 2024-25 Rapid City Rush (Opinion)

It is hard to determine how the loss of Zach Taylor will affect the Rapid City Rush in the 2024-25 season since Taylor joined the team late in the season and did not play a whole lot. But, from the little sample of his playing that we did get in the ECHL, this could be a pretty big loss for the Rush as Taylor had one of the best plus/minuses on the team, sitting behind only Charles Martin and Logan Nelson. After arriving in Rapid, Taylor seemed to fit in with the team pretty quickly and found his game quickly as well, helping the Rush get a few wins towards the end of the season. Taylor averaged a point per game as a defenseman with Rush, but he had almost a point per game at the collegiate level, averaging .80 points per game. Not only is Taylor good at defending, but he also knows how to score and is a pretty good offensive defenseman, which was something the Rush were missing before he joined the team. That being said, losing a defenseman that could not only defend but also had some offensive power could really hurt the Rush next season if they do not find any other defenseman that are able to score while still being good offensively.