John Byce

John Arthur Byce (born August 9, 1967) is a retired American ice hockey player. He played in 21 regular season games and in 8 playoff games in the National Hockey League with the Boston Bruins between 1990 and 1992. The rest of his career, which ended in 2000, was spent in various minor leagues. Internationally Byce played for the American national team at the 1992 World Championships

Career

Collegiate career Having been drafted 220th overall by the Boston Bruins in the 1985 NHL entry draft directly out of Madison Memorial High School, Byce walked-on to the Wisconsin Badgers team, where he was redshirted for his freshman season. After a largely unproductive sophomore season, Byce played well in his third year at Madison, scoring 34 points in 41 games as the Badgers claimed the WCHA Championship. In his fourth year on campus Byce was named as an alternate captain for the team and further increased his scoring; tallying 55 points in 42 games. The Badgers lost in the play-off semi finals, however Byce was named as a Second all-team wcha all-star. Byce would continue as an alternate captain during his final year in Madison, and would again increase his scoring, totalling 71 points in 46 games. Wisconsin would again win the WCHA championship, and Byce would again be named as a Second All-Team WCHA All-Star. The Badgers would go on to win the NCAA Championship, which Byce scoring a hat-trick in the championship final. For his efforts, he would be named to the All Tournament Team.

In addition to hockey, Byce was also a talented baseball player, playing as an outfielder. During the 1987 season, he set a school record for 9 consecutive hits, and also earned first-team all-Big Ten honors as a designated hitter.

Professional career Upon the culmination of his collegiate career, Byce was signed by the Boston Bruins and played in the Stanley Cup Final. Thus he became the first player to have won an NCAA Championship and compete for the Stanley Cup in the same season. As a result, Byce finished the season with the Capitals AHL affiliate Baltimore Skipjacks. Byce would return to the Skipjacks for the 1992–93 season, tallying 79 points in 62 games.

The 1993–94 season saw Byce move to Europe, playing for the Jönköping-based HV71 of the SEL, playing 33 games, registering 12 points. Mid-way through the season, Byce returned to North America and joined the Milwaukee Admirals in the IHL. Byce would play for three teams during the 1994–95 season, the Admirals, the San Diego Gulls also of the IHL and the AHL's Portland Pirates.

Following his time in Utah, Byce, along with former Ice Dog team-mate Rob Kenny, would move to the United Kingdom in order to play for the London Knights in the BISL. His season in London would be a successful one, with the team leading the league for much of the season, before finishing 4th, as well making the finals of the Benson & Hedges Cup. The team would then go on to win the Play-off final, beating the Newcastle Riverkings 7–3. Following his season in London, Byce retired.

International career Byce was named to the US National Team for the 1992 IIHF World Championships. Byce played 6 games, registering 2 points, as Team USA finished 7th overall.

Personal life Byce graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a degree in Business Administration, and subsequently completed an MBA at the same institution. Since retiring from professional ice hockey he works for RBC Wealth Management.

Awards and achievements WCHA Champion (1988, 1990) NCAA (WCHA) Second All-Star Team (1989, 1990) NCAA Champion (1990) NCAA All championship team (1990) Big Ten Medal of Honor (1990) BISL Playoff Champion (2000)

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1984–85 James Madison Memorial High School HS-WI 24 39 47 86 32 — — — — — 1986-87 University of Wisconsin WCHA 40 1 4 5 12 — — — — — 1987-88 University of Wisconsin WCHA 41 22 12 34 18 — — — — — 1988-89 University of Wisconsin WCHA 42 27 28 55 16 — — — — — 1989-90 University of Wisconsin WCHA 46 27 44 71 20 6 2 5 7 2 1989–90 Boston Bruins NHL — — — — — 8 2 0 2 2 1990–91 Boston Bruins NHL 18 1 3 4 6 — — — — — 1990–91 Maine Mariners AHL 53 19 29 48 20 — — — — — 1991–92 Boston Bruins NHL 3 1 0 1 0 — — — — — 1991–92 Maine Mariners AHL 55 29 21 50 41 4 0 1 1 2 1991–92 Baltimore Skipjacks AHL 20 9 5 14 4 — — — — — 1992–93 Baltimore Skipjacks AHL 62 35 44 79 26 7 4 5 9 4 1993–94 HV71 SEL 33 8 4 12 8 — — — — — 1993–94 Milwaukee Admirals IHL 28 7 4 11 10 3 2 1 3 0 1994–95 Milwaukee Admirals IHL 30 9 11 20 10 15 4 5 9 4 1994–95 San Diego Gulls IHL 5 2 3 5 2 — — — — — 1994–95 Portland Pirates AHL 6 1 1 2 2 — — — — — 1995–96 Los Angeles Ice Dogs IHL 82 39 46 85 40 — — — — — 1996–97 Long Beach Ice Dogs IHL 80 29 29 58 14 18 6 7 13 4 1997–98 Long Beach Ice Dogs IHL 17 9 8 17 10 12 4 1 5 4 1998–99 Long Beach Ice Dogs IHL 37 8 11 19 8 — — — — — 1998–99 Utah Grizzlies IHL 35 11 20 31 18 — — — — — 1999–00 London Knights BISL 29 11 18 29 6 6 1 4 5 4 IHL totals 314 114 132 246 112 48 16 14 30 12 NHL totals 21 2 3 5 6 8 2 0 2 2

International Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM 1992 USA WC 8 0 2 2 2 Senior totals 8 0 2 2 2