Taylor Vause is going to make his professional hockey debut tonight when the Texas Stars host the Abbotsford Heat. The Stars signed Vause to an ATO agreement. It’s a great opportunity for the Broncos Captain and well deserved. My friend Ryan Pinder (voice of the Heat) tweeted that Vause will be in the lineup for Dallas’ AHL affiliate tonight.
I know there are several schools interested in Vause and he can still go that way depending how the try out goes… but he’s taking his shot. Don’t underestimate this guy. He will do everything in his power to reach his goals.
There is nobody that cared more about being a Swift Current Bronco than Vause. You could see his emotion after Friday night’s final home game. You could see it in him taking the microphone to thank the fans and writing a letter to the newspaper to thank the community for everything. You could see it in the work he did with young kids with diabetes and the way he wore his heart on his sleeve on the ice. That kind of character is a big part of why Vause wore the C for the Broncos this season.
He had 83 points this season, 36 above his previous career high and 30 more than any other Bronco this season. He did that while always being matched up with the other team’s best line. Vause played on the top PP unit, the top PK unit and the top even strength line for all 72 games of the regular season. He shouldered a massive load and ended up winning 8 of the team’s year-end awards as a result.
The payoff is a chance to play pro hockey. Justin Dowling turned a similar arrangement with the Heat last season into a pro contract for this year. We’ll see if Vause is able to do the same. I think the Stars are a good fit for him too. They don’t have a ton of depth and that should give him at least some ice to show his stuff.
I’ll have more on the end of the season and the Vause retrospective interview on the blog shortly.
The for the comment we got asking about the awards click here.
Again congrats to Taylor. I know he’ll make the best of the opportunity.
I’m still looking for the awards. We heard Vause had a large haul. Way to go Taylor!
look harder….Shawn put a link in the comment section from the first time you asked.