| Taylor Baker | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Baker with the Montreal Force in 2022 | |||
| Born | July 30, 1997 Toronto, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Height | 5 ft 5 in (165 cm) | ||
| Weight | 143 lb (65 kg; 10 st 3 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shoots | Right | ||
| PWHL team Former teams | PWHL New York | ||
| National team |  Hungary | ||
| Playing career | 2016–present | ||
Taylor Samantha Baker (born July 30, 1997) is a Hungarian-Canadian ice hockey defender for New York of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) and member of the Hungarian national team.
Baker began playing ice hockey early in her childhood, around 3 or 4 years of age, and developed on minor teams in her home city of Toronto. [1] Her junior career was played with the Toronto Jr. Aeros in the Provincial Women's Hockey League (Provincial WHL). She played one regular season game with the Jr. Aeros in the 2012–13 and 2013–14 Provincial WHL seasons before fully joining the team for the 2014–15 season. Across her final two seasons with the team, 2014–15 and 2015–16, she scored 10 goals and 19 assists for 29 points in 72 games and racked up 62 penalty minutes. [2] During Baker’s four seasons with the Jr. Aeros, the team's roster featured a number of future Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) and Professional Women's Hockey Players Association (PWHPA) players, including Jessie Eldridge, Loren Gabel, Mikyla Grant-Mentis, Emma Greco, Sarah Knee, Daryl Watts, and Breanne Wilson-Bennett.
Her college ice hockey career was played with the RIT Tigers women's ice hockey program in the College Hockey America (CHA) conference of the NCAA Division I during 2016 to 2020. A traditional stay-at-home defenceman, Baker amassed modest collegiate statistics in offensive categories but was a standout in blocked shots. She led the team in her first season with 60 blocked shots and tallied 49 and 45 blocked shots respectively in the following two seasons. [3]
The end of Baker’s college career coincided with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in North America. Options to play in Canada or the United States were suddenly in short supply, so she pursued opportunities in Europe and opted to sign with the women’s ice hockey team of MAC Budapest, which plays in the European Women's Hockey League (EWHL) and the Női OB I bajnokság. She played the 2020–21 season and 2021–22 season with MAC Budapest. [4]
Returning to Canada after six years playing abroad, Baker signed with the PHF's newest expansion team, the Montreal Force, one day before the 2022–23 PHF season began. [5] That season, she and Christine Deaudelin tied as the Force’s top scoring defencemen, with 9 points each.
Baker was offered Hungarian citizenship and the chance to compete with the Hungarian national team while playing with MAC Budapest. [4] She made her debut with the Hungarian national team in the qualification tournament for the 2022 Winter Olympics, at which Hungary narrowly missed qualifying. Her first IIHF Women's World Championship was the 2022 Top Division tournament in Denmark and she also represented Hungary at the 2023 Top Division tournament.
Baker was born on July 30, 1997, in Toronto to Nancy and Peter Baker. One of three siblings, she has two brothers. [3]
She earned a bachelor's degree in biomedical sciences from Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) and is pursuing a MBA with a concentration in sports business at Toronto Metropolitan University. [6]
Baker holds multiple citizenship – Canadian by birth and Hungarian via naturalization. She does not speak Hungarian. [4]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2014–15 | Toronto Jr. Aeros | Prov. WHL | 36 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 32 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2015–16 | Toronto Jr. Aeros | Prov. WHL | 36 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 30 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 | ||
| 2016–17 | Rochester Institute of Technology | CHA | 34 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Rochester Institute of Technology | CHA | 31 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Rochester Institute of Technology | CHA | 19 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Rochester Institute of Technology | CHA | 35 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | MAC Budapest | EWHL | 16 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2021–22 | MAC Budapest | EWHL | 17 | 4 | 14 | 18 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23 | Montreal Force | PHF | 24 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2023–24 | New York | PWHL | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| PWHL totals | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Hungary | OGQ | DNQ | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | |
| 2022 | Hungary | WC | 8th | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 2023 | Hungary | WC | 9th | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
| 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |||||
Geraldine Heaney is an Irish-Canadian ice hockey coach and former defenceman. She played 18 seasons and over 1,000 games with the Toronto Aeros organization, won six Ontario provincial championships and was named Ontario Women's Hockey Association (OWHA) most valuable defenceman on three occasions. The Aeros retired her jersey number 91 in 2006. Internationally, Heaney was a member of the Canadian national team in the first seven Women's World Championships, winning gold each time. She is a two-time Olympian, winning silver at the inaugural tournament in 1998 tournament, and gold in 2002. On June 14, 2022, she became the head coach of the Toronto Six of the Premier Hockey Federation.
Angela Diane James is a Canadian former ice hockey player who played at the highest levels of senior hockey between 1980 and 2000. She was a member of numerous teams in the Central Ontario Women's Hockey League (COWHL) from its founding in 1980 until 1998 and finished her career in the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL). She was named her league's most valuable player six times. James is also a certified referee in Canada, and a coach. She lives in Richmond Hill, Ontario.
Kelly Babstock is a Canadian-American ice hockey player, currently playing in the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) with PWHL Boston. She has Ojibwe roots and is originally from Little Current on Manitoulin Island, part of the Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory.
Kaleigh Fratkin is a Canadian professional ice hockey player for PWHL Boston of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). The second-longest tenured player and leading scorer among defenders in PHF history, she was the first Canadian player to sign a contract in the league, is a five-time PHF all-star, and is a two-time PHF Defender of the Year in 2020 and 2021. She was also a member of the Boston Pride roster that captured the 2021 and 2022 Isobel Cup, and was one of three 2023 PHF All-Star captains. Previous to the joining the NWHL, she won the Clarkson Cup in 2015 and was the first girl to play boys' midget AAA hockey in British Columbia.
Loren Gabel is a Canadian professional ice hockey player for PWHL Boston of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). She made her debut for the Canada women's national ice hockey team at the 2018 4 Nations Cup, and played for them as well at the 2019 World Championships. She won the Patty Kazmaier Award as a member of the Clarkson Golden Knights in 2019, and was named the Premier Hockey Federation's Most Valuable Player, Outstanding Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year for the 2022–23 season.
Taylor Accursi is a Canadian ice hockey forward who is currently a free agent. She most recently played in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) with the Boston Pride.
Hayley Williams is a Hungarian-American professional ice hockey player and member of the Hungarian national team, currently playing in the European Women's Hockey League (EWHL) with HK Budapest. She previously played in the Zhenskaya Hockey League (ZhHL), the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL), and the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL), and is a three-time professional all-star, having been selected to the 2016 NWHL All-Star Game as well as the 2019 and 2020 ZhHL All-Star Games.
Taylor Cassidy Woods is a Canadian professional ice hockey player and strongwoman, currently playing in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) with the Toronto Six. A defenceman who has also played as a two-way forward, she is both a Clarkson Cup champion and an Isobel Cup champion.
Saroya Tinker is a Canadian retired ice hockey defenseman. She last played for the Toronto Six of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF), with whom she won the 2023 Isobel Cup championship.
Sarah Steele is a Canadian ice hockey defender, currently playing with the Toronto Six of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF).
Breanne Wilson-Bennett is a Canadian ice hockey forward, currently playing with the Toronto Six of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF), formerly the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL).
Emma Greco is a Canadian ice hockey defenceman for PWHL Boston of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). Greco has been described as a reliable stay-at-home defenceman.
Emma Maltais is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward for PWHL Toronto of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) and member of Canada women's national ice hockey team.
Réka Dabasi is a Hungarian ice hockey player and member of the Hungarian national team. She plays in the European Women's Hockey League (EWHL) with Hokiklub Budapest.
Sarah Donia Knee is a Hungarian-Canadian ice hockey player and member of the Hungarian national ice hockey team, currently playing in the Naisten Liiga (NSML) with KalPa Naiset. She represented Hungary at the 2021 IIHF Women's World Championship.
Alexandra Vena "Alex" Gowie is a Canadian-Hungarian ice hockey player and member of the Hungarian national ice hockey team, currently playing in the European Women's Hockey League (EWHL) with the women's representative team of MAC Budapest.
Regina Metzler is a Hungarian ice hockey player for the Ontario Hockey Academy of the Ontario Women's Hockey League (OWHL) and the Hungarian national team.
Corinne Schroeder is a Canadian ice hockey goaltender, currently playing in the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) with PWHL New York.
Taylor House is an American professional ice hockey player, currently playing in the Swedish Women's Hockey League (SDHL) with MoDo Hockey Dam. She previously played in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) with the Boston Pride and her college ice hockey career was played with the Quinnipiac Bobcats women's ice hockey program in the ECAC Hockey conference of the NCAA Division I.
Rachel McQuigge is a Canadian ice hockey goaltender. She is a free agent and most recently played with PWHL Ottawa in the 2023–24 season of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL).