The NHL Amateur Draft in 1975 looked very different than today. No Europeans in the early rounds, and U.S. college players were often late selections. That year, all 18 first-round picks came from Canadian junior teams. The first NCAA player chosen? Brian Engblom, in the second round by Montreal.
But the Los Angeles Kings took a chance way down in the 15th round, 210th overall, on a kid from Levack, Ontario, now part of Onaping Falls near Sudbury, who was playing for Clarkson University. That kid was Dave Taylor, and the hockey world had no idea what was coming.
Fast forward to the 1977-78 NHL season. Taylor, now a Kings rookie, posted a solid 22-goal campaign in 64 games. But it was January 14, 1978, at the Omni Coliseum in Atlanta, when he really made headlines.
Facing the Atlanta Flames, Taylor netted a hat trick, all in the second period. Each goal was assisted by veteran Danny Grant, who notched five assists that night. Taylor’s third goal, on Flames goalie Yves Bélanger, was the game-winner in an 8-4 Kings triumph. He added a fourth point with an assist on Ernie Hicke’s goal later in the game.
Before the legendary Triple Crown Line was formed, Taylor was already proving he belonged, skating alongside Marcel Dionne and Grant. And he didn’t stop there. Of the 217 players drafted in 1975, Taylor was the only one to play over 1,000 NHL games. He spent his entire career with the Kings, suiting up for 1,111 regular season games and 92 playoff contests from 1977 to 1994. Not bad for a 15th-round pick.
Dave Taylor's NHL Hat Tricks
Over his lengthy NHL career,
Dave Taylor scored three or more goals in a game nine times. In those
nine games, the Kings were 8-1. On January 25, 1990, Taylor scored
three goals on Edmonton Oilers goalie Bill Ranford in a 7-6 loss at
Northlands Coliseum.
Dave's lone four goal game
happened at the L.A. Forum on March 14, 1981 against the Minnesota
North Stars. In a 10-4 blowout, Taylor scored the lone goal on Gilles Meloche after the veteran came in to relieve Don Beaupre. Beaupre
allowed nine goals on 25 shots, including Taylor's first three of the
game. Included in those was the game winner, scored at 10:22 of the
first period with help from Marcel Dionne and Rick Chartraw.
His nine hat tricks were scored
against nine different teams. Five were at home and four were on the
road. All were regular season hatties, except for one. Dave had a
playoff three goal game against the Calgary Flames in game four of
the Smythe Division semi-final on April 10, 1990. In the 12-4 win,
Taylor, Tony Granato and Tomas Sandstrom all record hat tricks while
Granato, Wayne Gretzky and Sandstrom had five point games.
