Taylor Lantz has committed to the University of Alaska Anchorage and set to hit the ice for Seawolves next season. Neutral Zone has noted Taylor for his fast feet and equally fast hands. Using them to set up plays and force his opponents to make decisions quickly.
Growing up, Taylor had the opportunity to play Minnesota High School hockey for Greenway:
“Playing high school in MN was amazing. I came from a very small town and school, and when we had home games everyone would come out to the games and support us like crazy. My favorite memories from high school are playing our rivals, Grand Rapids, in front of about 5,000 people at a high school game. It was very cool having the whole community behind you and the little kids playing knee hockey saying they were you when they picked their player to play like.”
Taylor is currently playing for the Minot Minotaurors of the NAHL, his second season with the team:
“My experiences in junior hasn’t been as easy as everyone else’s, but I am very happy about how our season in Minot has gone for our team and my own personal success. My first year in juniors wasn’t very easy, it took awhile to get my confidence and play the way I can. But it taught me that I’m here for a reason and you can do whatever you put your mind to. The Minot program has helped me become a better player by learning the 200-foot game and helping me mature off the ice.”
Being no stranger to adversity, he tells us about an injury he had to overcome and has stuck with him through his career:
“My sophomore year in high school I had shoulder surgery and only got to play about 8 games that whole season, as well as, having to miss my whole football and baseball seasons. I overcame my shoulder surgery with a lot of hard work I physical therapy. It taught me and really showed me how much I do love this game, and how hard it is to not be on the ice with your teammates.”
His recruitment process was quite simple, knowing what career path he wanted and what school would get him there:
“My recruitment process went very smoothly and I really only had UAA in mind because of their aviation program. What also drew me to UAA was the opportunities I will have with hockey and the coaches seemed to like what I could bring to their program next year. My family [and I] felt like it was the right place because I have an opportunity to play right away and go to school for my dream job.”
With a well carved out plan for life after hockey, Taylor tells us what inspired him to want to become a pilot:
“Our family friend is a pilot for Delta, he got my little brother and I hooked on pilots since we were younger and it just stuck with me. I have wanted to be a Commercial Pilot since I can remember and UAA has that for schooling, so I couldn’t be happier to study it in Anchorage.”
In 52 games Taylor put up an impressive 44 points, from 15 goals and 29 assists.
Photo credit: Hickling Images
