Norwich University

Taylor Willard enters her fourth season as an assistant coach for the women's hockey team in 2024-25.

Last season, Willard aided the Cadets to an NEHC regular season championship, going 15-2-1 in conference play en route to earning the top seed in the NEHC playoffs.  Livia Brooks '27 became the first NEHC Player and Rookie of the Year in program history, leading a list of eight All-Conference honorees.  Brooks was also an AHCA All-American and a finalist for the Laura Hurd Award for Division III National Player of the Year.

Willard was named the lead assistant coach for the program on July 16, 2021.

Willard came to Norwich after two years as a volunteer assistant at the University of Vermont.  She helped guide the Catamounts to a 16-23-8 overall record and back-to-back Hockey East Quarterfinal appearances.

Willard played for and worked under former Amherst College head coach Jim Plumer at UVM.  Plumer won back-to-back NCAA Division III National Championships at Amherst in 2009 and 2010.

Willard was a two-year captain, logging 145 games for Vermont, which is tied for the second-most in program history.  Willard also ranks in the program's top 10 for points (62 - 9th), assists (41 - T-4th), power-play goals (12 - 4th), and most power-play goals in a single season (6 - T-5th).  Her point total is the most by a defenseman in program history.

Willard was a two-time Hockey East Second Team All-Star (2015-16, 2016-17) and an Honorable Mention All-Star in 2017-18.  She was also named to the New England Hockey Writers Association Division I All-Star following her 2016-17 campaign. 

Willard also won the 2018 Sarah Devens Award, presented annually to a player who "demonstrates leadership and commitment on and off the ice.  The Devens Award is a joint honor between ECAC Hockey and Hockey East and aids a deserving student-athlete with a post-graduate scholarship of $10,000.

Willard was the first Vermont player to win the prestigious award and the first Hockey East player since 2006 to earn the honor.

Before her career at Vermont, Willard was a member of Team USA at the 2013 U18 Women's World Championships where she picked up three assists in five games and won a silver medal.

Willard spent the 2018-19 season playing professionally for the Montreal Canadiennes in the Canadian Women's Hockey League.  She registered seven points (two goals, five assists) in 26 games as the Canadiennes went to the Clarkson Cup.