Q&A with MoDo’s Taylor House

A chat with the former Boston Pride forward as she navigates Swedish politeness, the big ice, and her rookie season in the SDHL.

TIG: Let’s start back all the way at the very beginning. What was the process like to sign in Sweden? How did you end up over there? How did that whole thing work out?

Taylor House: I was still kind of gauging my options with the PHF. But it just seemed like I was kind of hitting a wall there. My agent already had some other spots lined up as backup plans, between Switzerland and here. It kind of got to a point where I was like okay, let’s kind of just check out those for fun. Not even necessarily thinking anything of it because I was still planning on playing in North America. 

But once I talked to MoDo here, it kind of changed my perspective on the whole thing. I was like, well it actually sounds like a great setup. The hockey seems great. They have a lot more here outside of the money. It just seemed like a really great, even though its across the pond. They really sold it to me. So I was excited and I pulled the trigger pretty quickly after

TIG: What kind of stuff did they sell you on?

TH: I was expecting it to just be like a Zoom call, a chat. But they had a whole whole spiel lined up: a whole presentation! They showed me the rink, they gave me a tour of everything. The coach went over his systems and how the team plays. They asked me questions about me. It was like a full hour-long conversation that actually was very productive. They talked to my college coach.

TIG: That’s impressive. So they made you kind of feel you were wanted out there. 

TH: Yeah. 

TIG: On the ice, the game is a little different over there. It’s a little more physical, because they allow body checking along the boards, right?

TH: And moving in the same direction, so like even open ice skating like with them. 

TIG: How’s that been? The PHF was physical but it was still technically a penalty. How’s that transition been on the ice?

TH: As a five-foot-ten person myself, I love it. In college, I would touch somebody and if they fell, then I would get a penalty. And as a center going into corners, I love being able to actually be physical. I think it helps the game; it’s still so fast out here and not everyone does it all the time. It’s more used what it needs to be used. I think we aren’t like the boys going around blowing each other up. If you need to pin someone on the wall you can and you won’t get a penalty for it. It’s been kind of nice.

TIG: What was the biggest surprise for you on the ice in terms of the game?

TH: It was hard to adjust to the bigger ice but it didn’t slow the game down at all. Everyone’s still flying out here and honestly it’s shocking at how good some of the 16 year olds are out here. There’s teams where the age range is like 15 to 28 and everyone is the same skill level. 

The two 17-year-olds on my team are ridiculous. They still have to go to college and they’re almost 10 years younger than me. It’s humbling. The hockey is good out here; it’s been great. Thankfully not like a giant adjustment like it’s playing pro at home and then coming out here. It’s still great hockey.

TIG: What’s would you say the biggest differences from last season and the PHF and even two seasons ago in the NCAA?

TH: From last year we’re definitely busier with our schedule here. There’s more games. It’s very much more like college. You’re working out all the time. You’re skating during the day, not 9pm practices like we had to do last year.

The games themselves, they’re the same pace, like same level of attention everything but I think just the setup compared to last year and this year, this is much more like college. 

The travel is the same we’re still just getting on a bus to go. But we play Friday, Sunday here, which is a little different too. But I’ve kind of enjoyed that extra day off we do like a short skate and just kind of have the day to ourselves. 

TIG: What’s your day to day life like? Do you have like another job out there? Or is it just kind of play hockey?

TH: I don’t. We work out every day. It’s usually just like a light, simple one. We get free lunch at the rink. Then we just go home and hang out until afternoon practice. Then from 5 p.m. on the world is worlds ours.

I’ve been baking a lot in my free time, which my teammates have definitely enjoyed. I can’t eat it all myself ,so I just show up with food. 

TIG: Sounds like a great way to meet new teammates. 

TH: The Swedes are too polite and they’re always assuming there’s a reason, like it’s someone’s birthday or something for why I’m bringing treats. And I’m like no I just I just need to share with somebody because I can’t eat this myself. So all the bus rides, there’s been like banana bread or something to eat for our seven hour long drives.

TIG: Is there anything else you wanted to mention about in terms of being an import player playing in Sweden anything else?

TH:  I’d recommend it to anyone who’s thinking about it. Honestly, even if it’s just for a year, it’s been great. I have no complaints, nothing. Nothing bad to say about it. Honestly, even if like I do decide not to come back or something, it’s has nothing to do with my experience here. I think for anyone, if this is a choice, do it.