Quinton Byfield
| Quinton Byfield | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
August 19, 2002 Newmarket, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) | ||
| Weight | 214 lb (97 kg; 15 st 4 lb) | ||
| Position | Centre | ||
| Shoots | Left | ||
| NHL team (P) Cur. team |
Los Angeles Kings Ontario Reign (AHL) | ||
| NHL Draft |
2nd overall, 2020 Los Angeles Kings | ||
| Playing career | 2021–present | ||
Quinton Byfield (born August 19, 2002) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre currently playing for the Ontario Reign in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a prospect for the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL). Byfield was selected second overall by the Kings in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, becoming the highest drafted mixed race player in NHL history.[1][2] He is of Jamaican descent from his father, Clinton.[3]
Playing career[]
Byfield was the first overall pick in the 2018 OHL Draft and won both OHL Rookie of the Year and CHL Rookie of the Year.[4] In 2018–19, he put up 29 goals and 61 points in 64 games.[5]
After his second overall selection in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, Byfield was signed by the Los Angeles Kings to a three-year, entry-level contract on October 16, 2020.[6] He was assigned to the Kings' American Hockey League (AHL) roster to begin the 2020–21 season where he played on a line with Akil Thomas and Devante Smith-Pelly. His line became the first all-Black line in professional hockey since Herb Carnegie, , and Manny McIntyre in the 1940s. During their first game together, Thomas recorded a natural hat-trick and his line combined for six points in the eventual win.[7] On April 28, 2021, Byfield made his NHL debut in a 3–2 loss to the Anaheim Ducks. In October 2021, Byfield fractured his ankle, delaying what was a potential inside track to be the Kings fourth line center. [8]
International play[]
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
Representing  Canada
| ||
| Ice hockey | ||
| World Junior Championships | ||
 |
2020 Czech Republic | |
 |
2021 Canada | |
Byfield won a silver medal at the 2019 Hlinka Gretzky Cup.[9] Byfield won a Gold Medal with Canada at the 2020 World Junior Championships held in the Czech Republic, posting 1 assist in 7 games. Byfield won a silver medal with Canada at the 2021 World Junior Championships Held in Canada, Posting 2 goals and 5 assists for 7 points in 7 games.
Career statistics[]
Regular season and playoffs[]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2017–18 | Newmarket Hurricanes | OJHL | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Sudbury Wolves | OHL | 64 | 29 | 32 | 61 | 38 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 16 | ||
| 2019–20 | Sudbury Wolves | OHL | 45 | 32 | 50 | 82 | 44 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | Ontario Reign | AHL | 32 | 8 | 12 | 20 | 24 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
International[]
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Canada Black | U17 | 5th | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 12 | |
| 2019 | Canada | HG18 | 
|
5 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 | |
| 2020 | Canada | WJC | 
|
7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |
| 2021 | Canada | WJC |
|
7 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 4 | |
| Junior totals | 24 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 24 | ||||
Awards and honours[]
| Award | Year | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|
| OHL | |||
| Emms Family Award | 2018–19 | ||
| CHL | |||
| CHL Rookie of the Year | 2018–19 | ||
References[]
- ^ Button, Craig (November 9, 2018). "Lafreniere a cut above the class of 2020". TSN.ca. TSN. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
- ^ Kournianos, Steve. "NHL Draft 2020 prospect rankings: Preseason top 62 players on next year's big board". Sporting News. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
- ^ Wheeler, Scott. "Meet Quinton Byfield, hockey's latest and least likely..." The Athletic. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
- ^ Kerr, Ben. "2020 NHL Draft – An Early Look and Rankings". Last Word on Hockey. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
- ^ Morreale, Mike. "Lafreniere headlines 2020 NHL Draft prospects". NHL. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
- ^ "LA Kings sing Quinton Byfield to three-year, entry-level contract". Los Angeles Kings. October 16, 2020. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
- ^ Harrison, Doug (March 22, 2021). "Akil Thomas notches natural hat trick to lead hockey's 1st all-Black line since '40s". cbc.ca. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
- ^ |url=https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/32351245/promising-rookie-forward-quinton-byfield-19-indefinitely-ankle-injury-los-angeles-kings |website=espn.com |access-date=Oct 6, 2021 |date=Oct 6, 2021}}
- ^ "Byfield scores, but Canada settles for silver at Hlinka". The Sudbury Star. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
External links[]
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
 | This biographical article relating to a Canadian ice hockey player is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by . |
- 2002 births
- Living people
- Black Canadian ice hockey players
- Canadian ice hockey centres
- Canadian people of Jamaican descent
- Los Angeles Kings draft picks
- National Hockey League first round draft picks
- Ontario Reign (AHL) players
- Sportspeople from Newmarket, Ontario
- Sudbury Wolves players
- Canadian ice hockey player stubs