Solar Bears Sign Goaltender Ty Taylor

ORLANDO, Fla. — The Orlando Solar Bears, ECHL affiliate of the National Hockey League’s Tampa Bay Lightning, announced Thursday (Jan. 2) the team has signed goaltender Ty Taylor to an ECHL Standard Player Contract (SPC).

Taylor, 25, has appeared in 15 SPHL games this season with the Evansville Thunderbolts, going 5-6-3, with a 2.29 goals against average (GAA) and a .930 save percentage (SV%). The 6-foot-4, 200-native of Richmond, British Columbia, Canada returns to the Solar Bears after backstopping one game during the 2021-22 season.

In 33 SPHL games over two seasons, Taylor has a 11-14-3 record, a 2.50 GAA and .921 SV%. Taylor also spent one season in the Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) with the Glascow Clan, appearing in 17 games.

Prior to his professional career, Taylor spent three seasons at University of New Hampshire, where he was teammates with current Solar Bears Ara Nazarian, Ryan Verrier, and Kohei Sato, as well as former Solar Bears Rich Boyd and Eric Esposito. He later spent the 2021-22 season at MacEwan University (USports).

Taylor was selected by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the seventh round, 214 overall, in the 2018 NHL Draft. He was later traded to the Anaheim Ducks and then to the Edmonton Oilers on March 6, 2024.