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The Kalamazoo Wings announced their first two signings for the upcoming season, the teams 48th, which kicks off on Saturday, October 22nd when the team hosts the Indy Fuel.
Justin Taylor will be returning to the K-Wings for his thirteenth season with the team, and according to Taylor, there is no place he would rather be.
“Kalamazoo is my home,” Taylor said in a statement released by the team. “It’s where I’ve started my family. Where I want to play. It’s where my teammates have become brothers. The milestones that I’ve reached can never compare to what this city has given my family and me.”
The milestones, which will only grow for Taylor this coming season, are plenty. Taylor ranks first in career games played with 610, second in goals with 237, third in points with 457 and is tied for sixth in assists with 220. Taylor needs just three more goals to surpass both Kevin Schamehorn and Mike Wanchuk to become the K-Wings all-time goal scoring leader.
The love of the game, which he has played since he was two years old, and the drive to want to be better everyday, helps to keep the fire burning. While the stats and milestones are great, there is still one thing missing.
“ It will definitely be a cool thing to reflect back on (on his achievements) when I hang up the skates,” Taylor said. “Knowing that all the hard work I put into my career I can show to my son and let him know dad was half decent at hockey. But with all the stats that I’ve achieved in my career, there is still one more that I need to reach and that’s a championship.”
With 22 other teams vying for the same goal, Taylor said he and his wife have adopted a slogan for this upcoming season, “Top 7 or Bust”.
“There is a stat in the ECHL where every Kelly Cup Champion has finished 7th overall or higher to win”, Taylor said. “So my sights are on being a true contender. With the pieces the K-Wings coaching staff has in place, it is going to come down to the players wanting it more than every other team.”
The K-Wings also announced the signing of forward/defenseman Josh Victor.
Victor, 28, comes to Kalamazoo after playing 29 games with the Wheeling Nailers last season. Victor, who will be entering his fourth season as a professional, has also played for Quad City, Fayetteville and Macon in the SPHL and the Atlanta Gladiator of the ECHL.
The 6-foot-4inch native of Round Rock, Texas is excited to be coming to Kalamazoo
“I’m ecstatic for this opportunity,” Victor said in a statement released by the team.. “The coaches, players and fan base all expect to win, and I can’t wait to be a part of this electric atmosphere.”
Victor said that he was led to Kalamazoo based on the vision of the K-Wings coaches Nick Bootland and Joel Martin.
“I was drawn (to Kalamazoo) by how both Coach Bootland and Coach Martin recognized my play style and explained how I would fit into the puzzle of the team,” Victor said.. “They are aware of what the team needs and have a good plan for this coming season.”
Victor was introduced to hockey at an early age.
“My father got me into hockey,” Victor said. “He was born in St Lucia and raised in St Croix, so he never got to play. However, he went to college in Minnesota where he was pretty much immersed into hockey culture and fell in love with the finesse of the game mixed with the physicality of it all. Fast forward a couple years, a WPHL team was brought to Belton, TX around the time I was born and that is where I learned the game and how to skate.”
One thing Victor is looking forward to in Kalamazoo is playing on colored ice and one game in particular caught Victor’s eye last season.
“ I was pleasantly surprised last season when I saw the rainbow ice,” Victor said. “ I think that is a really awesome concept and I feel it opens the door for inclusivity in our game. Hockey truly is for everyone and to be a part of a game like that would be an honor.”
Although hockey is his profession, Victor has another passion: college football.
“ I am a huge college football fan,” Victor said. “Obviously I’m a Texas fan, “Hook ‘Em”, but more than that I love the passion, excitement and intensity of all games. Each week is unpredictable and exciting.
K-Wings News and Notes:
**The K-Wings extended their affiliation agreement with the National Hockey League’s Columbus Blue Jackets and the American Hockey League’s Cleveland Monsters for another season. This will be the fourth season in which the teams have worked together. They first partnered up from 2014-2016 and joined forces again last season.
**At the recent ECHL League meetings in Las Vegas, the K-Wings were the recipients of two awards. The team earned the “ECHL Theme Night of the Year” for their “Rainbow Ice/Hockey Is For Everyone Night” and the “Nickelodeon Minor League Program” for their “Ren and Stimpy & Star Trek” nights. By winning the award, the K-Wings will receive exclusive opportunities to partner with Nickelodeon in the future.
By: Mark C. McGlothlen
