John Taft

John Philip Taft (born March 8, 1954) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman.

Early life Taft was born in Minneapolis. Prior to turning professional, he played for the Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey team at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Career Taft played 15 games in the National Hockey League with the Detroit Red Wings in the 1978–79 season. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1977 to 1983, was spent in the minor leagues. Taft played for the American national team at the 1976 Winter Olympics, and the 1973, 1974 and 1975 World Championships.

Personal life Taft's daughter, Jenny Taft, is a reporter for Fox Sports 1.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1971–72 Minneapolis Southwest High School HS-MN — — — — — — — — — — 1972–73 University of Wisconsin-Madison WCHA 40 9 18 27 28 — — — — — 1973–74 University of Wisconsin-Madison WCHA 36 1 17 18 20 — — — — — 1974–75 University of Wisconsin-Madison WCHA 38 11 17 28 22 — — — — — 1975–76 United States National Team Intl 51 9 34 43 66 — — — — — 1976–77 University of Wisconsin-Madison WCHA 42 15 43 58 41 — — — — — 1977–78 Kansas City Red Wings CHL 71 5 22 27 25 — — — — — 1978–79 Detroit Red Wings NHL 15 0 2 2 4 — — — — — 1978–79 Kansas City Red Wings CHL 61 8 24 32 48 4 0 2 2 0 1979–80 Adirondack Red Wings AHL 47 1 7 8 25 — — — — — 1980–81 Salt Lake Golden Eagles CHL 68 8 19 27 68 17 1 2 3 33 1981–82 Salt Lake Golden Eagles CHL 70 6 16 22 46 1 0 0 0 0 1982–83 Salt Lake Golden Eagles CHL 77 5 25 30 65 6 0 0 0 8 CHL totals 347 32 106 138 252 28 1 4 5 41 NHL totals 15 0 2 2 4 — — — — —

International Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM 1973 United States WC-B 7 0 0 0 0 1974 United States WC-B 7 0 1 1 0 1975 United States WC 10 1 2 3 4 1976 United States OLY 5 1 2 3 8 Senior totals 29 2 5 7 12

Awards and honors Award Year All-NCAA All-Tournament Team 1973, 1977 All-WCHA Second Team 1976–77