| Dustin Byfuglien | |
|---|---|
Byfuglien while a member of the Atlanta Thrashers |
|
| Born | March 27, 1985 Minneapolis, MN, USA |
| Height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |
| Weight | 265 lb (120 kg; 18 st 13 lb) |
| Position | Defense/Right Wing |
| Shoots | Right |
| NHL team Former teams |
Winnipeg Jets Chicago Blackhawks Atlanta Thrashers |
| NHL Draft | 245th overall, 2003 Chicago Blackhawks |
| Playing career | 2005–present |
Dustin Ray Byfuglien ( /baɪfuːɡliən/ by-foo-glee-ən or local /ˈbʌflɨn/ buf-lin;[1] born March 27, 1985) is an American professional ice hockey player and an alternate captain of the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League. His known nickname is "Big Buff," made up by his teammates. Drafted as a defenseman, he has played both forward and defense in his career.
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Byfuglien was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Cheryl Byfuglien and father Ricky Spencer. His mother is of Norwegian descent, and his father is African American. Cheryl moved to Roseau, Minnesota, with Dustin to be closer to her family while Ricky stayed in Minneapolis to continue college; the two never wed. In Roseau, Byfuglien was exposed to the game of hockey where he found an instant love for the sport, which soon turned into a calling. Byfuglien's stepfather, Dale Smedsmo, played four games in the NHL with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1972, and 110 games in the World Hockey Association.[1][2] Byfuglien has three half-siblings on his father's side.
Due to academic ineligibility in Roseau, Byfuglien first moved to Warrenville, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, to play AAA under-18 hockey for the Chicago Mission then moved to Canada in hopes of not ruining any chance he could possibly have at playing hockey. In Canada, he played major junior hockey in the WHL. The Chicago Blackhawks drafted him in 2003.
Byfuglien is an avid fisherman, and competed in the 2011 Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship on Rainy Lake.
On August 31, 2011, Byfuglien was arrested on Lake Minnetonka and booked on suspicion of boating while intoxicated.[3]
Byfuglien and his long-time girlfriend, Emily Hendry, welcomed their first child, Kira Rae Byfuglien, on December 28, 2011.[4]
Originally a defenseman at the start of the 2007–08 season, he was moved to a right wing position to give the team a larger body near the net, an experiment that proved successful. In the 2010-2011 All-Star Game's Skill Competition his slap shot was clocked at 102.5 mph.
The forward excelled in his third professional season, becoming the first Rockford IceHogs player to earn the American Hockey League's Player of the Week award, when he scored one goal and had five assists in four games. Byfuglien had seven points in eight games with Rockford. Byfuglien earned a recall on November 3 to the Chicago Blackhawks and never returned to the IceHogs. He had a goal in his first shift with the Blackhawks in the 2007–08 NHL season on November 3 against the St. Louis Blues and recorded his first career hat trick (three goals in one game) against the Phoenix Coyotes on November 30. He finished tied for fifth on the team with 19 goals and 36 points in his third season with the team, all while making a transition to forward throughout the campaign.
On June 24, 2010, Byfuglien was traded by Chicago, along with Brent Sopel, Ben Eager and Akim Aliu to the Atlanta Thrashers for a 1st and 2nd round pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, Marty Reasoner, Joey Crabb and Jeremy Morin.[5] The Thrashers moved Byfuglien back to his natural position of defense, although he had experience as a first-line and second-line winger with the Blackhawks, including the Blackhawks' run to the Stanley Cup in 2010. He became an alternate captain for the Thrashers after a few months into the 2010 season. Byfuglien was selected to his first All-Star Game, along with teammate Tobias Enström. On February 15, 2011, the Thrashers signed Byfuglien to a five-year, $26 million dollar contract extension.
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2001–02 | Brandon Wheat Kings | WHL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Brandon Wheat Kings | WHL | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Prince George Cougars | WHL | 48 | 9 | 28 | 37 | 74 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 12 | ||
| 2003–04 | Prince George Cougars | WHL | 66 | 16 | 29 | 45 | 137 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | Prince George Cougars | WHL | 64 | 22 | 36 | 58 | 184 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Norfolk Admirals | AHL | 53 | 8 | 15 | 23 | 75 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 2005–06 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 25 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Norfolk Admirals | AHL | 63 | 16 | 28 | 44 | 146 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 18 | ||
| 2006–07 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 9 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Rockford IceHogs | AHL | 8 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 25 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 67 | 19 | 17 | 36 | 59 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 77 | 15 | 16 | 31 | 81 | 17 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 26 | ||
| 2009–10 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 82 | 17 | 17 | 34 | 94 | 22 | 11 | 5 | 16 | 20 | ||
| 2010–11 | Atlanta Thrashers | NHL | 81 | 20 | 33 | 53 | 93 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 341 | 75 | 87 | 162 | 361 | 39 | 14 | 11 | 25 | 46 | ||||
| Award | Year(s) |
|---|---|
| Stanley Cup | 2010 |
| NHL All-Star | 2011 |