Michigan freshman forward Thomas Bordeleau has been named the recipient of the 2021 Tim Taylor Award, given annually to the best first-year player in NCAA Division I men’s hockey.
He is the second Wolverine player to win this award, following Kyle Connor in 2016.
The award is voted on by the nation’s assistant coaches and is named for the former Yale University and U.S. Olympic Team head coach.
A native of Terrebonne, Quebec, Bordeleau led Michigan in scoring with eight goals and 22 assists for 30 points in 24 games and had a plus-minus rating of plus-17 as well. He had three game-winning goals and earned Big Ten freshman of the year honors and was named Second Team All-Big Ten.
A 2020 draft pick of the San Jose Sharks (second round, 38th overall), Bordeleau follows in the footsteps of his father (Sebastian) and grandfather (Paulin) who both played in the NHL. Prior to Michigan, Bordeleau spent two seasons with the U.S. National Team Development Program.
Tim Taylor, for whom the award is named, spent 28 seasons at Yale and became the school’s winningest head coach as he collected 337 victories. His tenure spanned from 1976-2006, while taking two years on leave to coach the U.S. Men’s Olympic Hockey Team as an assistant coach in 1984 and as the head coach in 1994.
Taylor was captain of the Harvard men’s hockey team before he graduated in 1963. He began his coaching career at his alma mater, serving as an assistant coach on the Crimson staff under Ralph “Cooney” Weiland and Bill Cleary before beginning his time with the Bulldogs in New Haven, Conn.
