Quinton Byfield is the OHL's rookie of the year, the Sudbury Wolves announced Wednesday, with the Newmarket native taking home the Emms Family OHL Rookie of the Year award.
“It’s a huge honour to receive this award,” Byfield is quoted as saying in a news release. “There were so many great rookies this year that could have been chosen to win this award.
“I couldn’t have achieved this without the help of my coaches and teammates. They gave me every opportunity to succeed and put a lot of trust in a 16-year-old, which is very humbling. I also can’t thank my family and billet family enough for their support. This wasn’t just achieved by myself, but with everyone I love and care about.”
Sudbury Wolves GM Rob Papineau is quoted in the release as saying Byfield had an outstanding season.
“He met all expectations offensively and he took huge steps forward in his overall game,” Papineau said. “He became a very trusted player at a young age to have on in the final minute of a game while protecting a lead, and he became a very good penalty killer to compliment his natural offensive ability.”
“We are proud and happy for Quinton, he truly deserves this recognition in what was an outstanding rookie class of players in the OHL.”
In 64 games, Byfield scored 29 goals and added 32 assists, second in Wolves scoring through the regular season. He also added three goals and five assists in eight playoff games.
The last Wolves player to win the award was Benoit Pouliot in 2004-2005. Other notable award winners include Connor McDavid in 2012-2013 and Aaron Ekblad in 2011-2012.
