Delta Hockey Academy Director Ian Gallagher announced on March 13 that Mark Taylor will be joining the Delta Hockey Academy coaching staff next season as the new head coach of the Female U18 Prep team. Taylor has a long history of coaching female hockey, most recently with the Greater Vancouver Comets Female U18 AAA program, where he led the team to give straight league titles.
In 1976, Taylor was named MVP in the BCHL at the age of 17 with 49 goals and 79 assists. He won a national championship with the University of North Dakota in 1980; that season Taylor was named to the NCAA all-American team and won MVP (now called the Hobey Baker award). Taylor is the second all-time leading scorer in UND history. Following his university career,
Taylor went on to play 12 years of professional hockey with the Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals. In his 1983-84 season with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Taylor scored 24 goals and 31 assists in 59 games.
“Mark’s extensive experience coaching female hockey and his commitment to the growth of the female game will be a great addition to our female program at the Delta Hockey Academy. We are thrilled that Mark is coming on board for a long-term coaching position,” said Gallagher.
Director of Female Hockey and Business Operations, Owen Pighin, echoed Gallagher’s sentiments, “I have so much respect for Mark as a coach and I am excited for him to share his knowledge and passion with our female student-athletes. I look forward to having Mark on our team for many years.”
Gallagher also announced the addition of Sasha Lutz as a new assistant coach while current assistant coach Kate Wheeler [Quinnipiac ‘12] is on maternity leave. Lutz attended MacEwan University for two years before transferring to the University of Alberta where she played with the Pandas for three seasons and led the team to a national championship in her final season as the captain. Lutz graduated with a Bachelor of Kinesiology majoring in Sports Performance in 2017.
During her studies at the University of Alberta, Lutz focused on strength and conditioning at the High Performance and Training Research Centre where she had the opportunity to train varsity athletes, professional athletes and female minor hockey players. After graduation, Lutz worked for the Sports Corporation’s administrative team before heading to Australia to continue her hockey career in the Australian national league.
“We are lucky to have Sasha join our team,” said Gallagher, “she comes from a high-performance training background and I know that her experience will be a great addition to the Female U18 Prep coaching staff.”
Both Taylor and Lutz will begin their coaching roles with the Female U18 Prep team at the start of the 2020-2021 school year.