Ones To Watch VS Basingstoke Bison 17th March

Wildcats One to Watch – Floyd Taylor

The One to Watch for our home team this evening is a Swindon lad through and through, Floyd Taylor has only ever played for one team and that is his hometown side the Swindon Wildcats.

This year will be Taylor’s 11^th season in a Wildcats jersey and he’s fully established himself as one of the best grinding forwards in the league.

Having come up through the various Swindon junior teams Taylor made his senior debut for the Wildcats in 2011 at just 16 years old. It was also in this same season that Taylor made his debit on the international scene, he played for GB U-18s and was named as an alternate captain on the team.

The following season Taylor was once more selected for GB U-18s but this time he was given the honour of captaining the team at the tournament. The next two seasons Taylor was selected to play for GB U-20s and these performances concluded his international career. In total he played 20 games for Great Britain and scored 6 points in these games.

In total Taylor has played in 473 games for the Wildcats and scored 134 points including 64 goals. As a gritty third line forward Taylor will never be one to put up big numbers on the scoreboard but his contribution to the team is far greater than that, his work ethic and physical play is something every team needs and desires. Keep an eye out for Taylor’s hard hitting and physical play this evening as he does his bit to help the team win. 

Bison One to Watch – Zack Milton

Tonight’s one to watch for our opposition, the Basingstoke Bison, is a young forward making great strides in the game, Zack Milton is only 21 but is playing his 4^th season in the UK’s second tier.

Milton came up through the junior system in Slough but it was only when he made the move to Bracknell that he made his debut for a senior ice hockey team. When just 16 years of age, Milton debuted for the Bracknell Hornets who played in NIHL2 and in that first season he played 22 games and scored 7 points.

By the age of 17 he had played his last full season in the UK’s 3^rd tier, in the 2018-19 season Milton made his debut for the Bracknell Bees and played with them for a full season in NIHL1. In that debut year with the Bees Milton scored at fractionally under 0.5 points per game in the 38 games he played.

The following season the NIHL National was formed and Milton played for the Bees and scored at just under a point per game, he managed 39 points in 44 games. During this season he also played for his country, Milton played for Great Britain U-20s and in 5 games he scored a single goal.

Following the pandemic Milton made the move to Basingstoke and he’s played there for the past two years, in those two years he has played 94 games and has scored 106 points including 45 goals. Included in the numbers above are the current season and in the remaining games he is on course to reach 64 points which would be a record season for Milton.

This season is just more evidence that Milton really is right on the cusp of becoming a fully fledged superstar in the NIHL National, his point returns on a Bison team that haven’t had the best of years indicate a very bright future for the young forward.