Karl Taylor is in his sixth season as head coach of the Admirals in 2023-24. Taylor owns a record of 157-90-29-11 in 287 games as the team’s bench boss and is one of just five coaches in Admirals history to amass 100 career wins. With 27 wins this season he will move into second place in the team’s AHL annuls.
Last season Taylor guided the Admirals to their most successful playoff run in 17 seasons, taking the team to the Western Conference Finals and in the process becoming the first coach since the team joined the American Hockey League in 2001 to advance to the second round of the post-season in consecutive years. Milwaukee dispatched Manitoba in five games in the division semifinals, before taking down Texas in five games as well to earn the Central Division crown. From there the Ads fell to Coachella Valley six games in the Western Conference Finals.
During the regular season Taylor’s troops amassed a 41-24-5-2 record and 89 points, good for second place in the Central Division. The team finished the year with the both the top power-play and penalty kill unit in the league, the first time an Ads team had accomplished that feat. Taylor saw 16 players suit up for both Milwaukee and Nashville, including players like Luke Evangelista, Kiefer Sherwood, and Phil Tomasino who helped the Preds stay in playoff contention through the last week of the regular season.
In 2021-22, Taylor led the Admirals to the third round of the Calder Cup Playoffs after finishing third in the AHL’s Central Division with a record of 39-28-5-4 (87 points). With the help of players like Cody Glass, who led the team and was tied for 15th in the AHL in points with 62 (14g-48a), Milwaukee qualified for the postseason for the 16th time in its AHL history and the second time with Taylor at the helm. Reinforcing his proven track record of developing talent, 12 players who skated for Milwaukee also competed in an NHL game for the Predators in 2021-22. When Predators Head Coach John Hynes was placed on the NHL’s COVID-19 list during the 2021-22 season, Taylor filled in behind the bench for two NHL games, helping Nashville pick up wins in back-to-back contests on Dec. 16 vs. Colorado and Dec. 17 at Chicago.
In 2019-20, his second season with Milwaukee, Taylor led the club to a 41-14-5-3 record, an AHL-leading 90 points and the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy, awarded to the AHL’s regular-season champions. For his efforts, Taylor was honored with the Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award, given to the AHL’s most outstanding coach. Milwaukee’s dominant 2019-20 season was highlighted by its defense, which allowed a league-low 2.24 goals per game, while the team’s offense ranked seventh in scoring (3.35).
Taylor’s first season behind the Admirals bench, 2018-19, saw him lead the club to the Calder Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2017, finishing with a 36-24-14-2 (88 points) regular-season record and a second-place finish in the Central Division.
Before joining the organization, the 51-year-old North Bay, Ont., native spent four seasons with the AHL’s Texas Stars as an assistant coach. In Texas, Taylor’s teams went a combined 152-108-30-14 and made the playoffs in three of his four seasons. His tenure was headlined by the Stars’ appearance in the 2018 Calder Cup Finals, where they came one game from claiming the AHL title, falling to the Toronto Marlies in Game 7. With Taylor behind the bench, Texas earned at least 90 points in three seasons, including the 2017-18 season’s 90-point effort (38-24-8-6) that culminated with the AHL’s Western Conference Championship.
Taylor also spent one season as an assistant coach for the Western Hockey League’s Portland Winterhawks in 2013-14, where they finished second in the WHL’s regular-season standings with 113 points (54-13-5 record). Taylor helped guide the Winterhawks to the WHL Finals as the 2014 WHL Western Conference Champions, where they fell to the Edmonton Oil Kings in seven games.
Before jumping to the WHL, Taylor served as an assistant coach with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves in 2011-12 where he won the Midwest Division and was a head coach in the ECHL for six seasons from 2005-11. He was at the helm of the Reading Royals from 2005-08, making the playoffs in two of his three campaigns, amassing a 112-82-22 record in the process. Taylor then became the first head coach of the ECHL’s Ontario Reign from 2008-11, leading them to the playoffs in their inaugural season. He finished second in the John Brophy Award voting for ECHL coach of the year in 2008-09.
Taylor played three seasons in the Ontario Hockey League with the Windsor Spitfires, London Knights and North Bay Centennials, tallying 35 points (16g-19a) in 137 games from 1988-91. Following his junior career, he played for the University of New Brunswick from 1991-95, serving as an alternate captain in his final three seasons. Taylor also spent time as a head coach at Red Deer College in Alberta and the University of Waterloo before landing his first professional coaching job.
Taylor and his wife Beverley have two kids and reside in Hartland, WI.