The center surpasses San Jose Sharks forward Evander Kane (2009, Atlanta Thrashers) and Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Seth Jones (2013, Nashville Predators), each chosen at No. 4.
Byfield, in interviews leading up to the draft, said he embraced that plateau and wants to become a role model for players of color. He called his selection “definitely super special.”
“It means a lot to me, it’s something special,” Byfield said. “Being in the record books for anything is definitely super special, especially [since] my dad and my mom didn’t play hockey or have too much knowledge about that, so kind of just growing the game together. It just shows there’s a lot of opportunity for everyone in the world that you can play every sport and be successful in it.”
Kings vice president and general manager Rob Blake said “We’re proud to be adding him to our organization and look forward to the next stages on his development and a promising career in L.A.”
Blake said that though Byfield is proud of his draft-night accomplishment and its responsibility, he is focused on playing hockey.
“I think his agency is very up to date on everything that can take place with that with being a poster child for kids to follow now …” Blake said. “We’ll work closely with them. Quinton’s been very good in letting us know and his agent that his focus be on hockey. He’s very adamant about that, we support that 100 percent. That’s what got him to this place, and he’s going to continue to focus on that to be great for the Kings.”
Byfield led Sudbury in scoring and was 14th in the Ontario Hockey League with 82 points (32 goals, 50 assists) in 45 games. He won 51.9 percent of his face-offs (304-of-586) and had one assist in seven games for Canada, which won the 2020 IIHF World Junior Championship.
Several current and former NHL players hailed Byfield’s historic section as further proof of hockey’s growing diversity. They predicted his presence in the League will attract more Black youth to the game as fans and players.
“I think he was regarded by many, obviously, and backed it up with being the second-best player in the draft,” Kane said. “That’s impressive in itself for a player of color, especially with what’s transpired here of late within society and within our game. For him to become the highest-drafted Black player in NHL history, I think, is a pretty special accomplishment.”
Kane said that Byfield, as a Black player, “obviously has had some adversity growing up playing hockey and his skill set and talent was able to trump that, which I can relate to.”
Kane said he’s looking forward to meeting Byfield but said, “I don’t know if I’m looking forward to playing against him.
“He looks like a good player, big kid (6-foot-4, 215 pounds), he’s only going to get stronger as he gets older. He reminds me a lot of myself when I got drafted. He looks young … he definitely has room to grow, and that’s only going to make him more difficult to play against.”
Hockey Hall of Fame goalie Grant Fuhr, who was chosen No. 8 by the Edmonton Oilers in the 1981 draft, called Byfield’s selection “awesome.”
“I think it shows the diversity of the game,” Fuhr said. “Obviously, when it comes to the draft, you’re going to take the best player. Well, if a player of color is the best player, then it means the game is getting out to neighborhoods that it needs to get out to expose the game, and I think that’s fabulous for hockey.”
Karl Subban, father of New Jersey Devils defenseman P.K. Subban, Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Malcolm Subban and defenseman Jordan Subban, is a lifelong Sudbury fan because his family lived there after immigrating from Jamaica. He rejoiced over Byfield’s selection.
“Whenever you have a player like that who has the potential to go one, two or three and he looks like me and my boys? Wow,” Karl Subban said. “It’s good news all around, not only for the young man and his family, but for a lot of kids who share his dreams, share his hope and share his aspirations.”
If Byfield makes the Kings roster in 2020-21, he’ll become the seventh Black player in their history, joining Fuhr and forwards Anson Carter, Jarome Iginla, Nathan Lafayette, Mike Marson and Wayne Simmonds.
The Kings selected forward Akil Thomas in the second round (No. 51) of the 2018 NHL Draft, and forward Bokondji Imama played for the Kings’ American Hockey League affiliate in Ontario, California, in 2019-20.
Byfield said he’s spoken with Thomas, who was his teammate with Canada, about the Kings and Los Angeles, and said he received congratulations via Twitter from Kane and Thomas.
“We were definitely close buddies there and hung out quite a bit. It would be cool to see him again and hopefully play with him one day, that would be something special,” Byfield said of Thomas. “He’s given me a bit of a rundown on L.A. and what to expect. I’m very excited for that. He’s had nothing but great words about the organization.”
Blake said the Kings won’t rush Byfield to the NHL next season, but didn’t rule out him playing for Los Angeles.
“Physically, I think he has the ability to step in and play in the NHL with his size and playing ability,” Blake said. “Now there’s a lot more that goes into it: The uncertainty on the amount of games, when we’re starting … what will happen in the OHL where he’s currently playing, the World Juniors, all of this has to come into account. I would say those players drafted in that type of level, there’s always a look at them to see if they project to be in the NHL as soon as next year.”
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe remain undefeated in women’s doubles at the WTA Finals.
The 2023 U.S. Open champions, seeded second at the event, secured a 1-6, 7-6 (1), (11-9) super-tiebreak win over fourth-seeded Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in round-robin play on Tuesday.
The season-ending tournament features the WTA Tour’s top eight women’s doubles teams.
Dabrowski and Routliffe lost the first set in 22 minutes but levelled the match by breaking Errani’s serve three times in the second, including at 6-5. They clinched victory with Routliffe saving a match point on her serve and Dabrowski ending Errani’s final serve-and-volley attempt.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will next face fifth-seeded Americans Caroline Dolehide and Desirae Krawczyk on Thursday, where a win would secure a spot in the semifinals.
The final is scheduled for Saturday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Nov. 5, 2024.
EDMONTON – Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his career as the New Jersey Devils closed out their Western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored for the Devils (8-5-2) who have won three of their last four on the heels on a four-game losing skid.
The Oilers (6-6-1) had their modest two-game winning streak snapped.
Calvin Pickard made 13 stops between the pipes for Edmonton.
TAKEAWAYS
Devils: In addition to his goal, Bratt picked up his 12th assist of the young season to give him nine points in his last eight games and now 15 points overall. Nico Hischier remains in the team lead, picking up an assist of his own to give him 16 points for the campaign. He has a point in all but four games this season.
Oilers: Forward Leon Draisaitl was held pointless after recording six points in his previous two games and nine points in his previous four. Draisaitl usually has strong showings against the Devils, coming into the contest with an eight-game point streak against New Jersey and 11 goals in 17 games.
KEY MOMENT
New Jersey took a 2-0 lead on the power play with 3:26 remaining in the second period as Hischier made a nice feed into the slot to Bratt, who wired his third of the season past Pickard.
KEY RETURN?
Oilers star forward and captain Connor McDavid took part in the optional morning skate for the Oilers, leading to hopes that he may be back sooner rather than later. McDavid has been expected to be out for two to three weeks with an ankle injury suffered during the first shift of last Monday’s loss in Columbus.
OILERS DEAL FOR D-MAN
The Oilers have acquired defenceman Ronnie Attard from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenceman Ben Gleason.
The 6-foot-3 Attard has spent the past three season in the Flyers organization seeing action in 29 career games. The 25-year-old right-shot defender and Western Michigan University grad was originally selected by Philadelphia in the third round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Attard will report to the Oilers’ AHL affiliate in Bakersfield.
UP NEXT
Devils: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
Oilers: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns, and Kareem Hunt pounded into the end zone from two yards out in overtime to give the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs a 30-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.
DeAndre Hopkins had two touchdown receptions for the Chiefs (8-0), who drove through the rain for two fourth-quarter scores to take a 24-17 lead with 4:17 left. But then Kansas City watched as Baker Mayfield led the Bucs the other way in the final minute, hitting Ryan Miller in the end zone with 27 seconds to go in regulation time.
Tampa Bay (4-5) elected to kick the extra point and force overtime, rather than go for a two-point conversion and the win. And it cost the Buccaneers when Mayfield called tails and the coin flip was heads. Mahomes and the Chiefs took the ball, he was 5-for-5 passing on their drive in overtime, and Hunt finished his 106-yard rushing day with the deciding TD plunge.
Travis Kelce had 14 catches for 100 yards with girlfriend Taylor Swift watching from a suite, and Hopkins finished with eight catches for 86 yards as the Chiefs ran their winning streak to 14 dating to last season. They became the sixth Super Bowl champion to start 8-0 the following season.
Mayfield finished with 200 yards and two TDs passing for the Bucs, who have lost four of their last five.
It was a memorable first half for two players who had been waiting to play in Arrowhead Stadium.
The Bucs’ Rachaad White grew up about 10 minutes away in a tough part of Kansas City, but his family could never afford a ticket for him to see a game. He wound up on a circuitous path through Division II Nebraska-Kearney and a California junior college to Arizona State, where he eventually became of a third-round pick of Tampa Bay in the 2022 draft.
Two year later, White finally got into Arrowhead — and the end zone. He punctuated his seven-yard scoring run in the second quarter, which gave the Bucs a 7-3 lead, by nearly tossing the football into the second deck.
Then it was Hopkins’ turn in his first home game since arriving in Kansas City from a trade with the Titans.
The three-time All-Pro, who already had caught four passes, reeled in a third-down heave from Mahomes amid triple coverage for a 35-yard gain inside the Tampa Bay five-yard line. Three plays later, Mahomes found him in the back of the end zone, and Hopkins celebrated his first TD with the Chiefs with a dance from “Remember the Titans.”
Tampa Bay tried to seize control with consecutive scoring drives to start the second half. The first ended with a TD pass to Cade Otton, the latest tight end to shred the Chiefs, and Chase McLaughlin’s 47-yard field goal gave the Bucs a 17-10 lead.
The Chiefs answered in the fourth quarter. Mahomes marched them through the rain 70 yards for a tying touchdown pass, which he delivered to Samaje Perine while landing awkwardly and tweaking his left ankle, and then threw a laser to Hopkins on third-and-goal from the Buccaneers’ five-yard line to give Kansas City the lead.
Tampa Bay promptly went three-and-out, but its defence got the ball right back, and this time Mayfield calmly led his team down field. His capped the drive with a touchdown throw to Miller — his first career TD catch — with 27 seconds to go, and Tampa Bay elected to play for overtime.
UP NEXT
Buccaneers: Host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
