Dane Byers (born February 21, 1986) is a former

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice ...

player. He last played for and captained Manchester Storm of the UK's

EIHL The Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL), sometimes referred to as the British Elite League or, for sponsorship reasons, the Viaplay Elite League, is an ice hockey league in the United Kingdom. Formed in 2003 following the demise of the Ice Hockey ...

. He was originally drafted by the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its ho ...

48th overall in the

2004 NHL Entry Draft The 2004 NHL Entry Draft was the 42nd NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 26 and 27, 2004 at the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. It is especially notable because it was the last NHL event to take place before the beginning of the lockout ...

Playing career

Junior

Byers began his junior hockey career with the

Prince Albert Raiders The Prince Albert Raiders are a major junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League. The Raiders play in the East Division of the Eastern Conference. They are based in the city of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada. The team plays its hom ...

of the WHL in 2002-03, where he scored eight goals and 14 points in 49 games. Byers returned to the Raiders in 2003-04, as he scored nine goals and 17 points in 51 games, then he added a goal and three points in six playoff games. Byers appeared in 65 games with the Raiders in

2004-05 A coxless four is a rowing boat used in the Rowing (sport), sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for four persons who propel the boat with Sweep (rowing), sweep oars, without a Coxswain, coxswain. The crew consists of four rowers, each ha ...

, scoring 11 goals and 20 points, while accumulating 181 penalty minutes. Byers had a strong playoff run, scoring four goals and 10 points in 17 games. Byers broke out offensively in the 2005-06 season, scoring 21 goals and 48 points in 71 games; however, the Raiders failed to qualify for the playoffs.

Professional

After his junior season ended with the

, the

assigned Byers to the

Hartford Wolf Pack The Hartford Wolf Pack are a professional ice hockey team based in Hartford, Connecticut. A member of the American Hockey League (AHL), they play their home games at the XL Center. The team was established in 1926 as the Providence Reds. After a ...

to finish the 2005-06 season. Byers had two assists in five games with Hartford. He spent the entire 2006-07 season with the Wolf Pack, where Byers had 17 goals and 47 points, along with 213 penalty minutes in 78 games. In seven playoff games, Byers scored two goals. Byers returned to Hartford for the 2007-08 season, where he had 23 goals and 46 points in 73 games. In five playoff games, Byers had a goal and three points. He also made his NHL debut during the 2007-08 NHL season, going pointless in one game with the

. Byers missed most of the 2008–09 season due to a knee injury suffered during a game against the

Worcester Sharks The Worcester Sharks were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that played from 2006 to 2015. Affiliated with the National Hockey League's San Jose Sharks and located in Worcester, Massachusetts, the Sharks played t ...

on October 31, 2008. In nine games, Byers had four goals and seven points, and he returned for the playoffs for Hartford, where Byers had three goals and four points in six games. Byers rebounded from his injury shortened season in 2009–10, as he had 25 goals and 52 points in 74 games with the Wolf Pack. Byers also appeared in five games with the Rangers, scoring his first NHL goal against

Niklas Bäckström Niklas Oskar Bäckström (; born 13 February 1978) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey goaltender and current goaltending coach for the Columbus Blue Jackets. He played ten seasons for the Minnesota Wild and Calgary Flames in the Natio ...

of the

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and play their home games at the Xcel Ener ...

on October 30, 2009. Several days later, Byers was given an automatic one-game suspension by the NHL for instigating a fight with forward

Tanner Glass Tanner Glass (born November 29, 1983) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger. Known as a physical player, he played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Florida Panthers, Vancouver Canucks, Winnipeg Jets, Pittsburgh Penguins ...

in the final five minutes of a 4–1 loss to the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce ...

on November 3. Byers began the 2010–11 season with Hartford, where in 16 games he had three goals and nine points. On November 11, 2010, the Rangers traded Byers to the

Columbus Blue Jackets The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ...

in exchange for

Chad Kolarik Chad E. Kolarik (born January 26, 1986) is an American former professional ice hockey right wing. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Columbus Blue Jackets and New York Rangers. Playing career As a youth, Kolarik played in th ...

. The Blue Jackets assigned Byers to the AHL's

Springfield Falcons The Springfield Falcons were a former ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) and played in Springfield, Massachusetts, at the MassMutual Center. In 2016, the Falcons' franchise was purchased by the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Ariz ...

, where he had nine goals and 25 points in 48 games. Byers was once again on the move, as on February 28, 2011, Byers and

Rostislav Klesla Rostislav "Rusty" Klesla (born March 21, 1982) is a Czech former professional ice hockey defenceman. Klesla was selected fourth overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, making him the first ever pick in an entry draft by ...

were traded from the Blue Jackets to the

Phoenix Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Coyotes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and currently play at the Mull ...

in exchange for Scottie Upshall and

Sami Lepistö Sami Lepistö (born 17 October 1984) is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman who currently plays for SCL Tigers of the National League (NL). He is the son of former Jokerit captain and youth international defenceman Jussi Lepistö. Sami ...

. As a result of the mid-season trades, Byers was able to set an AHL record for most games played in a season, with 85. But, on July 11, 2011, he was signed to go back to the Jackets. On January 16, 2012, Byers was given a three-game suspension by the NHL for an illegal check to the head of

Andrew Desjardins Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is frequently shortened to "Andy" or "Drew". The word is derive ...

during a game against the

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertain ...

on January 14, 2012. On July 5, 2012, the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

signed Byers to a one-year, two-way contract. He was assigned to the Oilers' AHL affiliate, the

Oklahoma City Barons The Oklahoma City Barons were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). The team's first season was 2010–11. They played their home games at the Cox Convention Center, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. History On February 9 ...

, to begin the 2012–13 season. On April 2, 2013, he was traded to the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, a ...

in exchange for Garrett Stafford. On June 26, 2013, despite no contract extension with Washington, Byers signed a one-year contract to remain with the Capitals' AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears. After two seasons as captain of the Bears, Byers left North America and signed a try-out contract with Finnish

Liiga The SM-liiga (marketed as just Liiga from 2013 on), (Finnish for ''League'') colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. It is one of the six founding leagu ...

club

Ilves Ilves (; Finnish for "Lynx") is a Finnish professional ice hockey team based in Tampere. They play in the Liiga at the Tampere Deck Arena. The colors of Ilves, green, yellow, and black, were taken from what was then the coat of arms of the cit ...

on September 22, 2015. In his first stint overseas, Byers recorded two goals in six games with Ilves before signing with rivals

Lahti Pelicans The Lahti Pelicans are a Finnish professional ice hockey team playing in the Liiga. Founded in 1996, they play in the city of Lahti at Isku Arena. The team is co-owned by (among others) former National Hockey League (NHL) goaltender Pasi Nurmine ...

for the remainder of the season on October 12, 2015. On May 23, 2016, Byers signed with

Kölner Haie The Kölner Haie (English: ''Cologne Sharks'') are an ice hockey club based in Cologne, Germany that plays in the professional Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). The team was one of the founding members of the DEL. The ''Kölner Haie'' play their hom ...

of the German

Deutsche Eishockey Liga The Deutsche Eishockey Liga (for sponsorship reasons called "PENNY Deutsche Eishockey Liga") (; English: ''German Ice Hockey League'') or DEL, is a German professional ice hockey league and the highest division in German ice hockey. Founded in ...

(DEL). On 1 June 2017, Byers moved to the United Kingdom to sign for

Elite Ice Hockey League The Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL), sometimes referred to as the British Elite League or, for sponsorship reasons, the Viaplay Elite League, is an ice hockey league in the United Kingdom. Formed in 2003 following the demise of the Ice Hocke ...

club Manchester Storm. Byers played for two years in Manchester, the second as captain, before retiring in April 2019.

Family

Byers' brother Cole Byers was also a professional hockey player who played for the

Hull Stingrays Hull Stingrays were a British ice hockey club from Kingston upon Hull who was a member of the Elite Ice Hockey League from 2003 until 2015. They played their home games at Hull Arena. The Stingrays replaced previous clubs Humberside Seahawks ( ...

in the British

. The brothers are also cousins of former NHL enforcer-turned-radio host

Lyndon Byers Lyndon Svi Byers (born February 29, 1964) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Byers played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for parts of ten seasons with the Boston Bruins and San Jose Sharks, earning a reputation as one of the ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Byers, Dane 1986 births Living people Canadian ice hockey left wingers Columbus Blue Jackets players Hartford Wolf Pack players Hershey Bears players Ice hockey people from Saskatchewan Ilves players Kölner Haie players Lahti Pelicans players Manchester Storm (2015–) players New York Rangers draft picks New York Rangers players Oklahoma City Barons players People from Nipawin, Saskatchewan Prince Albert Raiders players San Antonio Rampage players Springfield Falcons players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Finland Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Germany