Jim Kyte
James G. Kyte ( born March 21, 1964 in Ottawa, Ontario ) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey player. During his career he played for the Winnipeg Jets, Pittsburgh Penguins, Calgary Flames, Ottawa Senators and San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League. He was the first deaf player in the NHL history.
Career
Kyte played for two years from 1981 to 1983 at the Cornwall Royals in the Ontario Hockey League. Although he did not shine in these two seasons with special offensive statistics, chose the Winnipeg Jets defender because of his defensive qualities in the NHL Entry Draft in 1982 in the first round in twelfth position.
Since Kyte suffered from deafness, many assumed that he had little chance for a career in the National Hockey League. But already at the end of the 1982/83 season denied the Canadians his first two games for the Winnipeg Jets, so he became the first deaf player in the NHL history. From the season 1983/84 Kyte was an integral part in the squad of the Jets, before he, although he had played in the recently concluded season, the best of his career in the summer of 1989, in a comprehensive six players transfer business to the Pittsburgh Penguins had to go. There he was in the game year 1989/90, first at also the NHL squad. In the 1990/91 season, he was deported to the start of the season in the farm team of the Penguins, and a little later transferred for Jiří Hrdina to the Calgary Flames, where he again made the jump to the NHL. After the end of his contract after the season 1991/92 he signed as a free agent contract with the Ottawa Senators newly established. Kyte received despite his experience, surprisingly, no place in the defense of the Senators, as they put lots of young players, and played only four times for the team from the Canadian capital. After almost three years in the AHL and IHL höherklassigen Minor Leagues, the San Jose Sharks the Canadians took the end of the shortened because of the lockout season 1994/95 under contract. He also remained the following season in San Jose, but had in the season 1996/97 again compete in the farm team the way. After this season Kyte ended his active career because of a concussion he sustained in a car accident in 1997.
Disability
Kyte was the first player in the NHL history, the games played in the NHL despite a strong hearing loss. Because of his disability he wore during games a hearing aid that he hid under a specially designed helmet with muffs over the ears.
Although Kyte was not hearing impaired at birth, it was discovered at the age of three years, that he was already completely deaf. Due to his disability, he was particularly active during his career at charity events that were associated with hearing loss.