Chicago Blackhawk's Dustin Byfuglien and His Hockey Career

You might not expect Dustin Byfuglien to be from America, judging by his name, but he is one of the several Minnesota hockey players who has made it all the way to the NHL. Dustin Byfuglien was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota on March 27, 1985, making him twenty-four years old. Byfuglien is 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighs 247 pounds. Hockey is not exactly a sport of great racial diversity, so when you see an African American player, like Dustin Byfuglien, you might be a little surprised, but obviously his race has nothing to do with his hockey skill.

Dustin Byfuglien's road to the NHL started in the 2001-2002 hockey season with the Brandon Wheat Kings. The Brandon Wheat Kings team is a part of the WHL (Western Hockey League), which is one of the three leagues that makes up the CHL (Canadian Hockey League). The CHL is the most competitive league when it comes to junior hockey. Dustin Byfuglien was a part of the Brandon Wheat Kings for part of the 2002-2003 season, but switched over to another WHL team, the Prince George Cougars during that season. Dustin Byfuglien was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in 2003, 245th overall. Despite being drafted, he remained with the Prince George Cougars in the WHL until 2005 before heading over to the AHL (American Hockey League).

In the 2005-2006 hockey season, Dustin Byfuglien was placed on the Norfolk Admirals team, which is the Chicago Blackhawk's affiliate AHL team. During that season, Byfuglien was called up by the Chicago Blackhawks and made his NHL debut. Dustin Byfuglien finished out the rest of the 2005-2006 season with the Chicago Blackhawks, but was moved back down the following season. After being moved back down to his AHL team, the Norfolk Admirals in 2006, he was called back up to play with the Chicago Blackhawks the rest of the 2006-2007 hockey season. Dustin Byfuglien was originally a defenseman, which is the position he had been playing and was supposed to keep playing, but in the 2007-2008 season, he was switched to a forward position. Byfuglien now plays right wing for the Chicago Blackhawks, a position that has worked out quite well for him.

In Dustin Byfuglien's first full season with the Chicago Blackhawks, he scored his first goal during his first shift of the season against the St. Louis Blues. Byfuglien also scored his first ever hat trick very early on in the season (November) in a game against the Phoenix Coyotes. Dustin Byfuglien finished the 2007-2008 season with the fifth most points scored in the season, and keep in mind that this was the season where he was learning to play a new position.

ref-www.nhl.com