Taylor Hall Honed His Skills on Backyard Rinks
Taylor Hall honed his skills on backyard rinks http://www.faceoff.com/story_print.html?id=2787495&sponsor= Taylor Hall honed his skills on backyard rinks BY JOHN MACKINNON, EDMONTON JOURNAL APRIL 10, 2010 Taylor Hall began playing hockey at age three and spent hours on the rink alone or with the neighbourhood kids, who included T.J. Galiardi, two years older than Hall, and a current member of the Colorado Avalanche. Photograph by: Windsor Star, Windsor Star WINDSOR, Ont. — Taylor Hall is one of the two fresh faces of the NHL’s next generation, but he’s really a throwback, a backyard rink rat who honed his dynamic game playing for hours on the ice surface outside his back door. “It’s hard to be a hockey player without a backyard rink,” said Taylor’s dad, Steve Hall, an ex-CFL player and former member of Canada’s bobsled team. “There’s no question, that’s where the kids learn.” Young Hall learned plenty noodling around on the backyard rink, to the point neither Steve nor Taylor think it accidental he has become the dynamic player he is. Last Wednesday, NHL Central Scouting rated Hall second overall in their final rankings, behind slick centre Tyler Seguin of the Ontario Hockey League’s Plymouth Whalers, after both players shared the league’s scoring title with 106 points. The two 18-year-olds have taken turns atop the rankings all season, so the final ‘pick ’em’ rating was hardly a surprise just a bit less than three months from the entry draft in Los Angeles in June.
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