Quinton Byfield: The Black Panther of hockey
After being the first Black player drafted in the top two of any NHL Entry Draft, Quinton Byfield's on the road to stardom.
Photo Credit: @LAKings on Twitter
Before the pandemic put our lives in a wood chipper, I used to play hockey with a group of primarily Black kids in Baltimore. I was passing around with a friend one day in 2017, and a few kids showed interest in joining us. The next week, I found sticks for them and asked them to join us. This group quickly grew to about 20 or so kids.
Every week, we’d meet up and play hockey. We’d also talk about life because my friend and I wanted to make sure we were doing something good in their lives. I’ll never forget when we met up the week after Black Panther came out. The Black kids had a new energy about them that I’d never seen before. When I asked them about it, one of the kids told me about Black Panther and how “there’s finally a superhero like me”.
I’ve also been a fan of Black Panther. Even as a kid, I saw him as a more badass Captain America with a much more interesting life and backstory. But it never truly resonated with me how important Black Panther was until I heard those words.
For the first time, these kids were seeing Black superheroes featured in blockbuster films. And not just any super hero — the greatest male super hero of the Marvel Comics Universe.
Early this morning, I was walking my dogs at Riverside Park in Baltimore. I heard someone yell “Mr. Dave!” I turned around and it was Kendrick, one of the kids I used to play with.
Kendrick is one of the kids I’m most proud of. He’s only 11 and he’s already been dealt a very unfair hand by life. That hasn’t stopped him, though. I got him interested in hockey and now he plays travel hockey despite never skating once in his life before about 24 months ago. He always tells me I inspire him, but you know what? Kendrick inspires me. He has a zest and passion for life everyone should have. Kendrick has every excuse to feel bad and blame others. But he never does. He just keeps smiling and pushing on. Kendrick decided he wanted to play hockey, so he did. It’s that simple.
Anyway, I waved to Kendrick, who came racing over to me. I tried to ask him how everything’s going, but before I could, he told me "Dave! Dave! Did you hear! Quinton Byfield was drafted last night!” I told him, “Yes, I know. I’m a huge fan of his and he’s going to be a star.” Kendrick then told me, “I can’t even put into words how great it is to see someone like me get drafted so high.”
This is why it’s such a big deal Byfield got drafted with the second overall pick. Hockey has been begging for someone like Byfield for a long time. Fans have been as well.
Quinton Byfield’s going to be the Black Panther for Black hockey fans. Sure, there have been great Black players like Wayne Simmonds, Jarome Iginla, P.K. Subban, Evander Kane, and Matt Dumba. But Byfield is different. Byfield’s a star. The deck was stacked against him and he didn’t care. He overcame the odds and is now going to be a star in one of America’s biggest markets.
Byfield’s going to inspire a new generation of hockey fans. There’s going to be Black kids wearing their Byfield jerseys and I can’t wait to see it. Kids like Kendrick see Byfield, and they see someone like them. To Black kids, he’s proof that they can do anything they want to do and be anyone they want to be if they work hard enough.
Why will Byfield be a star? Because he’s an extremely gifted hockey player. Byfield has consistently been one of the youngest players in each league he’s played in thanks to his August birthday. Yet all Byfield has ever done in hockey is dominate. Tune into any of his games and, more likely than not, he’ll be at worst one of the five best players on the ice for either team. He’ll usually be the best or second best.
He has the size you love to see in a franchise center. Byfield has an NHL-ready frame. As soon as he figures out how to use it to his advantage against grown men, he’s going to be a beast. If the CHL rules weren’t stupid, Byfield would probably get the chance to work on that before the 2020-21 NHL season starts.
Byfield is a dynamic offensive force. He’s one of the fastest and strongest skaters in the draft. Whenever Byfield has the puck, your eyes naturally turn to him because you want to see what he’s going to do next. He’s equally comfortable setting up his teammates and shooting the puck, making him very hard to contain. Byfield isn’t afraid to go to the dirty areas either, which really impresses me.
But most importantly, Byfield is someone who Black people, especially children, can look up to.