Despite being a returning player for Team Canada, LA Kings prospect Quinton Byfield is the youngest player on the roster. Even so, the expectations are sky high from most people – even before a single exhibition game or the round robin portion of the tournament gets underway.
At various practices and scrimmages throughout Canada’s training camp, Byfield has been slotted at center on the second, third, and fourth lines at various points. Thus, his role hasn’t fully been defined yet.
Byfield spoke with TSN and shared the following:
On missing the first few days of camp due to delays with the results from his COVID tests – “It definitely sucked, not getting out on the ice. You really want to get out there for the first couple skates with the guys and get to know everyone, but I don’t think it really affected me too much. It wasn’t the best camp that I could have had, but it was still a lot of fun and the experience is awesome here. Going through nine months of just not being on the ice too much, not getting to see your teammates, not going through team practices, it was definitely a little challenging to get back into the flow of things. It definitely took me a little bit, but I think I’m starting to find my rhythm, getting used to all the hard practices that we’re putting in here. Just being in a team atmosphere again, it’s very exciting. Games are coming up soon. I think the whole team is excited and the atmosphere in the room is awesome.
Head coach Andre Tourigny on Byfield – “I think it’s no secret he had a little bit of a slow start. Since then, I think he’s made big strides. What I like about Quinton is that he’s really coachable. Every time we talk to him, we coach him, or we ask him to make an adjustment, he does it with a smile – no problem, no body language. He tries to be better every day any he competes extremely hard. That’s something I really respect and I really like.”
Photo via Matthew Murnaghan / Hockey Canada
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