Jamaican player scores first NHL goal in 3-2 win for LA Kings
Published:Sunday | January 30, 2022 | 12:09 AMDaniel Wheeler - Staff Reporter
ICE HOCKEY player Quinton Byfield, of Jamaican descent, marked his return to the National Hockey League (NHL) with a memorable moment in his young career.
The Canada-born Byfield, 19, scored his first-ever NHL goal for the Los Angeles Kings, en route to a 3-2 win over the New York Islanders on Thursday night at the UBS Arena in Elmont, New York. Byfield, whose father is Jamaican, returned to the NHL level on January 20 from an ankle injury he suffered last October.
Byfield was drafted second overall by the Kings in the 2020 NHL draft, becoming the highest-drafted black player in the history of the league.
In the aftermath of his first career goal, Byfield said he had developed a comfort level about his game which he attributes to the work he put in during the offseason and getting NHL experience late last season.
“I just wanted to develop in the summer and I knew I could play at this level and as you noted too, just a little bit more comfortable as the games go along,” Byfield told the club website.
“I just want to keep that going, can’t take any days off here and whatever opportunity I get, make something of it.”
Byfield spent the majority of the 2020-21 season with the Kings American Hockey League affiliate playing on a line that included Akil Thomas and Devonte Smith-Perry. Together they made history as the first all-black line in professional hockey since the 1940s. Byfield made his NHL debut last April against the Anaheim Ducks and registered his first point against the Arizona Coyotes last May.
SUPER EXCITED
Byfield described his excitement in being able to get his first league goal on the night that his teammate, defenceman Drew Doughty played in his 1,000th game
“I was definitely super excited about getting that one. It’s been a journey, this year and the first one, and I definitely felt a lot of confidence throughout the game. To do it with this team and on Drew’s special night, it was special,” Byfield said.
The LA Kings are currently in third place in the Pacific Dvision in the Western Conference with 50 points, two adrift of the Ducks and three away from leaders, the Las Vegas Golden Knights.