James Byers (ice hockey)

James Byers (born 1 March 1994) is an Australian ice hockey player currently playing for the CBR Brave in the Australian Ice Hockey League and is a member of the Australian national team.

Playing career

Byers first played for the Regina Flames of the South Saskatchewan Minor Hockey League in the 2010-11 season. He remained with the Flames until the end of the 2011-12 season before returning to Australia where he Canberra Knights of the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL) for the 2012 season. Byers played in 10 games for the Knights in his debut season, recording one goal and two assists. The Following season Byers became a permanent member of the squad, playing in all 28 games of the season. Before the start of the 2014 AIHL season the Knights folded operations and were replaced in the league by the CBR Brave. The Brave signed Byers along with many of the former Knights players for the 2014 season.

Byers was first selected to represent Australia in 2011 where he joined the national under-18 team to compete in the 2011 IIHF World U18 Championship Division III Group A tournament being held in Taipei, Chinese Taipei. Australia won the tournament and gained promotion to Division II for the next year, while Byers earned his first gold medal in international competition and finished the tournament with six points in five games. The following year Byers was again selected for the under-18 team to compete at the 2012 IIHF World U18 Championship Division II Group B tournament. Australia finished in fifth place while Byers managed only one points for the tournament and finished with a plus-minus of –6. In January 2014 Byers joined the national under-20 team to compete in the 2014 IIHF World U20 Championship Division II Group B tournament. He was named one of the teams alternate captains and was awarded the prize of Top Player on the Team by the tournament coaches. A few months later Byers joined the national senior team to compete in the 2014 IIHF World Championship Division II Group A tournament being held in Belgrade, Serbia. Australia finished in fourth place while Byers recorded only a single assist for the tournament.

Personal life

McKenzie was born on 1 March 1994. His older brother Harrison also plays for the CBR Brave and has also previously been a member of the national under-18 and under-20 teams.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International