there is a giant problem within the hrpf fandom that has yet to be addressed, and it stems from both racism and ignorance. there is a lack of inclusion of black players in rpf fics/fandom.
the rpf fandom is very interesting. there is a constant rotation of white boys of the month, and even during off season you cannot look at hockey without the mention of one of these guys. people post in flurries hoping for scrapes of their guys, for a sign of life. can relate to the sentiment, except for one little fact: my fav player is black, and it is a rarity if he is mentioned.
quinton byfield of the la kings has made history: he was the second overall pick in the 2020 draft, and with that he became the highest drafted black person in nhl history. the la kings post about him, hte fans post about him, but there is a lack in the greater nhl fandom. he should be making waves, but he is not. quinton is among his fellow black players in this regard.
there are few black players in the nhl, but there are black players — and somehow those players are rarely talked about and almost treated as non existent. with quinton, i have never seen such a high round picked player talked about so little. the kings organization talks about him, and so do kings fans, but no one else does. it’s like people don’t know he exists; but some fifth round pick would be talked about endlessly because he’s white, and those are the facts. there is this acceptance of whiteness, and almost blanket of it. white people are more “blorbo”—able to the fandom, which is a mostly white space. they are almost more appealing because they are the “default” of sports and spaces. they are familiar, what society gravitates towards. the rpf fandom grapples onto these white boys without paying their black colleagues a passing glance.
this is racism, and it is also ignorance.
those who do not talk about black players probably believe they aren’t racist, and maybe they aren’t, but there is ignorance within them they do not recognize. because of the white default fandoms choose their favs in groups, in the same select of white people — and it is less racism but more-so the fact they do not realize black players are even an option. these years of white people at the forefront have lead fandom to choose them without broadening their options, because no one has taken a second and thought otherwise.
with quinton byfield this blanket of whiteness is apparent. he is the most blorbo player i have laid eyes on. that man is a high draft pick, and he acts the more homoerotic with his teammates; more than i have seen his white counterparts do. below is some evidence:
this is a video of quinton kissing darcy kuemper after their overtime win over the st. louis blues. this kiss is not unique to this instance. quinton kisses darcy after every win. he hugs and kisses him. every, single. win. this display is something that players never do.
i watch quinton kiss darcy and i know for a fact that if a white hockey unknown, on a team less talked about, were to do this tumblr would be in shambles for weeks. the players popularity would sky rocket and he’d become well known in a matter of seconds.it’d be a renaissance. he’d be the new white boy of the month — the new blorbo to fixate over. this would tear the internet apart, but that simply does not happen for quinton because he is not the aesthetic appeal that people want.
this isn’t to say that quinton doesn’t get attention — he does! someone pointed out this situation wonderfully: people are happy to give a little reblog and throw quinton a like, but they never go beyond that. the engagement is shallow, and no one actively decides to look deeper into quinton. they are satisfied with scrolling past him because he isn’t what they imagine, what they’re looking for, nor what they want. and it’s crazy because he hits so many markers for a rpf blorbo. he was a high round pick (almost THE highest), is a young fresh player, has had the goal of the year once and had the third highest goal this year, was picked for the canadian olympic orientation camp, is shirtless in all postgame photos (and constantly draping himself across his teammates), and such a social butterfly. below are photos and gifs:
aren’t his narratives compelling? aren’t his accomplishments and whimsy just as wonderful as the others?
apparently it isn’t.
he can’t even be rpf’d because people cannot cross that barrier within their mind of his race, of the concept of someone who isn’t white being with another man. there are layers to this racism, to this ignorance. all of the photos, videos, and gifs displayed in this post would set hockeyblr on fire if quinton wasn’t black, if he was a medium popular white player who was drafted averagely in their class — and this isn’t to dig at said players but to show the difference and grace they are granted.
quinton has achieved so much, is constantly proving himself to be one of the best, but a white man who hasn’t nearly done half the work he has will get more recognition before fandoms even dream of considering him.
the white blanket must be lifted. sincerely, a black hockey fan.
On a background of blue-purple-pink palm trees, a montage of photos featuring Quinton Byfield in various silly poses and situations. In the center, text reads: “Quinton Byfield, a primer.”
ID of each photo, from left to right.
TOP ROW:
(1) Cropped photo of Team Canada’s 2025 Olympic Orientation Camp. It is a very pixelated Quinton Byfield. He is smiling for the camera, he glows in the sun.
(2) The LA Kings broadcast cropped focus on the Kings bench, where Alex Laferriere, Quinton Byfield, Phillip Danault, and coach Jim Hiller are waiting for play to resume. Byfield is throwing it back. He is bent over with his hands braced against the boards and ass several feet in the air. Behind him is coach Jim Hiller, who looks on with his mouth slightly open.
(3) Former Kings player Jordan Spence and Byfield together on the ice, both of them grinning wide as Spence pushes Byfield around on a blue seal sled. Spence is in a gaudy red Christmas sweater and Byfield is in a bright yellow onesie.
(4) Byfield inside what looks to be a man-cave. He poses side-on with his hands on his hips and a squinty expression on his face, an attempt at looking cool. He is wearing a bright green novelty beer helmet, which is shaped like a cowboy hat, and has the straw dangling out of his mouth.
(5) Byfield in a car with the window down. He Makes a blue steel expression, his brow wrinkled and his lips pursed.
BOTTOM ROW:
(1) Byfield in the locker room with his practice gear on. He flexes his arm to pose for the camera. Here is a ring of dampness visible around his neck.
(2) Black and white photo of Byfield and former teammate Vladislav Gavrikov during a Kings win celebration (victory flag visible in the background). Their gloved hands are locked, Gavrikov grins and Byfield looks off-screen with his mouth wide open.
(3) Byfield on what looks to be an on-ice obstacle course, the photo taken from an angle slightly above his head. He has his helmet loose with the foggy visor flipped up. He looks at the camera with a cheeky expression and pokes his tongue out of the corner of his mouth.
(4) Byfield and former teammate Pierre-Luc Dubois taking a selfie together in their Kings practice gear. Dubois holds the phone out in front of him and smiles sweetly. Byfield leans into Dubois and makes an exaggerated pouting face.
(5) Byfield on a boat holding a fishing rod in one hand and a large black fish in the other hand. He brings the fish close and leans down to make a kissy face at it.
Slide Two
text:
B.D. — Before Draft
– Quinton was taken first overall to the Sudbury Wolves of the OHL in 2018. in his two seasons he put up 61 goals and 82 assists for 143 points in 109 games!!!
– in the 2018-19 season he won CHL/OHL rookie of the year and he tied for fifth in the OHL 2019-20 season with points/gp
– in 2019 he was with team Canada in the 2019 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, winning silver with them
– he also participated in the 2020 WJC for team Canada and won gold
– in an interview q’s 2021 WJC teammates said he brought blueberries and raspberries with him and a full meal to the rink. also not a stranger to dominos and ordered it multiple times a week with marble cake. (they won silver this year. q put up two goals and five assists in seven games)
Various Photos of Quinton Byfield to the right of the body text.
ID Left to right, top to bottom:
(1) A group photo of the 2020 Canada World Juniors squad after winning gold, with Byfield amongst them.
(2) Photo of 3 Sudbury Wolves players after the Teddy Bear Toss event. Quinton Byfield stands between his (unidentified) teammates with his arms on their shoulders, with a plushie between his teeth.
(3) Byfield in a red, flower patterned suit jacket during walk-ins. He is carrying a box of blueberries and a box of raspberries in one hand.
(4) Byfield during the 2020 WJC right after the final whistle. He is caught in motion while running to the victory scrum having thrown his gloves off in celebration.
Slide Three
text:
A.D. – After Draft and Beyond
– quinton made NHL history on october 6th, 2020, by becoming the highest drafted black person at 2nd overall !!!
– Magic Johnson and Snoop Dogg congratulated quinton right after the draft
– when quinton was drafted he had a little bowtie on, which rob blake made a comment on in a post-draft interview! blake stated that even Anže Kopitar (our captain) messaged him after saying he needs to step-up his dress game
– q scored his first AHL goal on feb 17th 2021
– unfortunately, q went through a lot at the beginning: fractured ankle during preseason game (2021-22 season), covid right after recovery, and even sprained wrists (2023 season). because of this he moved up and down the AHL, the Ontario Reign, a lot before staying on the Kings roster at the middle of the 2023 season and beyond
– during q’s time in the AHL he was briefly on a line with Akil Thomas and Devante Smith-Pelly. this line was the first all black hockey line since the 40s. they combined for six points. quinton opened up the scoring and during the game Akil Thomas scored a natural hat trick
ID Top to Bottom
(1) Black and white photo of the Byfield family with balloons in celebration of Quinton being drafted by the Kings. They smile joyfully and pose with their arms around each other. Left to right: Nicole Kasper (mother), Quinton, Clinton (father), and Chloe (sister).
(2) Graphic depicting the California skyline. Overlaid is bold, pink, semi-transparent text that reads, “California Dreamin.”
Slide Four
text:
Whimsy!!!
– q is so clingy with his teammates it’s crazy. He would probably die without physical touch
– he uses purple grip tape and during practices he writes his name, with a smiley face, on a piece of tape and sticks it on his helmet! (he also wears a ‘Q’ necklace and owns a hat that says ‘QB’)
– didn’t know there was a top rack in the dishwasher until seven months ago, at the age of 22
– has his little rituals!!!! post -game hug and kiss with our goalie darcy :) he also hugs laf and gives kopi a big high five
– q would also get sprayed in the face, with water, during warmups by our other goalie rittich (gone in off season </3)
– he facetimes his mom when getting groceries to help pick out veggies
– extra: dressed as NWA with other black reign/kings players, dressed up as frozone on halloween. he also cannot be trusted cooking
interview image text:
- display of Byfield’s dishwasher-loading skills, a performance that brings laughter from Chloe who shares with the group that Byfield didn’t know until recently there was an upper rack in the dishwasher and once he did make the discovery wasn’t exactly sure what to do with it.
- “He was barbecuing, it went up in flames and he ran to the side of the house because he thought it was going to explode,” Chloe recalled. “I have the video.” Of course she does. / “ I think it was like one of my first times grilling, and my dad was trying to teach me, and he left me alone out there too long, and I started a fire,” Byfield recalled.
Various photos of Quinton Byfield to the right of the body text slightly overlapping each other.
ID Left to right, top to bottom:
(1) Aerial shot of Quinton Byfield and goalie Darcy Kuemper during their post-win ritual. They share a tight embrace, with Byfield planting a sweet smooch on the side of Kuemper’s mask.
(2) Former Kings goalie David Rittich (off-screen) standing by the bench and spraying Byfield with a water bottle for their pre-game ritual. Byfield is getting absolutely blasted, and grins under all the water dripping over his face.
(3) Kings teammates Alex Laferriere, Quinton Byfield, and Jordan Spence (former) posing in their group halloween costume. Each player is a different character from Pixar’s The Incredibles. Laferriere (left) is Elastigirl/Helen, he is in a brown wig and holds his arms out at the camera. Spence (right) is Dash, he is in a blond wig and leaning down. Byfield is Frozone/Lucius, he squats in front of the other two and has added a large gold chain around his neck.
(4) LA Kings/Ontario Reign teammates posing in their group halloween costume. They are dressed as hip-hop group NWA. Left to right: Brandt Clarke, Akil Thomas, Caleb Jones, Quinton Byfield, Andre Lee. All of them are in black street wear, caps, sunglasses, and have large gold chains — save for Brandt Clarke, who is, presumably, dressed as their manager Jerry Heller.
Clarke stands just in front of the group in a black trench coat, sunglasses and tie, while holding a bag. He looks very serious. Everyone else poses behind Clarke.
(5) Cropped photo of Byfield’s neck, a gold chain featuring a large “Q” letter pendant is pulled out over his hockey gear.
(6) Cropped photo of Byfield’s practice helmet. A piece of masking tape is secured to the front, written in black is, “Quinton” along with a smiley face.
Slide Five
text:
Post-Game Helmet Photos.
Slide Six
Three rows of photos from the 2024-25 Kings’ post-game tradition of posing with the Player of the Match in either a Lando Norris racer helmet or an LAFD firefighter helmet. Each photo is cropped to focus on Quinton Byfield getting silly with it. Of note: he is almost always shirtless.
ID of each photo, left to right:
TOP ROW:
(1) Warren Foegele in the Lando helmet making a hang 10 gesture, Quinton Byfield (shirtless) leaning into him, Alex Laferriere, Adrian Kempe making a shushing gesture, and a grinning Anže Kopitar sprawled across their laps.
(2) Half of Adrian Kempe’s face, Anže Kopitar in the Lando helmet, Quinton Byfield (shirtless) leaning into Kopitar and making a goofy face with his tongue sticking out of the side of his mouth, Alex Turcotte, and Warren Foegele in front.
(3) Quinton Byfield (chest protector still on!) with his eyes wide and tongue sticking out, Alex Laferriere balanced in his lap, and Phillip Danault on the right.
(4) Alex Laferriere, Tanner Jeannot making a peace sign, Quinton Byfield (shirtless) in the Lando helmet, Warren Foegele making a thumbs up gesture, and Kevin Fiala with his hand stretched all the way over to rest on Foegele’s thigh.
(5) Quinton Byfield (shirtless) with his hand on Darcy Kuemper’s thigh, Darcy Kuemper in the Lando helmet, David Rittich, and Tanner Jeannot.
(6) Brandt Clarke with his eyes half-shut, Alex Laferriere, Jordan Spence, and Quinton Byfield in front. Byfield is in Laferriere’s lap. Laferriere has his hands fisted very politely on Byfield’s waist. Byfield has is hand resting on Clarke’s inner thigh. Spence pinches one of Byfield’s nipples.
MIDDLE ROW:
(1) Quinton Byfield (shirtful…) on Jordan Spence’s lap. Spence has a hand on Byfield’s chest to anchor him in place. Phillip Danault is to their right in the Lando helmet.
(2) Trevor Moore looking like a startled animal, Phillip Danault, Kevin Fiala in the Lando helmet, Quinton Byfield leaning into and making a kissy face at Fiala, and Alex Laferriere sprawled across Byfield’s lap.
(3) Adrian Kempe in the Lando helmet, Anže Kopitar, and Quinton Byfield making a shushing gesture.
(4) Jordan Spence poking his head into frame, Vladislav Gavrikov, Darcy Kuemper in the Lando helmet, Quinton Byfield (shirtless) kissing the back of the helmet, Kyle Burroughs in his game day suit, Mikey Anderson, and Jacob Moverare with his head cradled in Burroughs’ arm. Below them: Kevin Fiala, Trevor Moore, the top of David Rittich’s head, and Joel Edmundson. A roll of pride tape rests on Quinton’s leg.
(5) Anže Kopitar, Quinton Byfield (shirtless) poking his tongue out the side of his mouth really far, and Kevin Fiala.
(6) Jordan Spence with his head poking into frame, Brandt Clarke making a flexing gesture while leaned against Quinton Byfield’s chest, Byfield (shirtless), Alex Laferriere also leaning into Byfield’s chest with a hand wrapped around to his inner thigh and holding his knee, and Kevin Fiala.
BOTTOM ROW:
(1) Kevin Fiala draped across several teammate’s laps. Quinton Byfield (shirtless) is behind and holding him while biting his cap.
(2) Kyle Burroughs in his game day suit sitting on Jacob Moverare’s lap, Mikey anderson, Darcy Kuemper in the LAFD helmet, Vladislav Gavrikov, Joel Edmundson. Below them: Tanner Jeannot, Quinton Byfield (shirtless) with Kevin Fiala AND Brandt Clarkle in his lap, Jordan Spence with his bottom lip pushed out, and Alex Laferriere tucked under Spence’s arm.
(3) Phillip Danault, Alex Laferriere with the LAFD helmet, and Adrian Kempe with his finger in Quinton Byfield’s ear. Jordan Spence holds Kevin Fiala securely, hand resting on his chest. Byfield (shirtless) pulls Fiala’s hair back to reveal his big forehead. Byfield grins with his whole face scrunched up in reaction to Kempe’s finger in his ear.
(4) Half of Kyle Burroughs in his game day suit, he is gripping Mikey Anderson’s left pec with determination. Quinton Byfield (shirtless) is on the right, leaning into Anderson and holding his inner thigh.
(5) Andrei Kuzmenko in the LAFD helmet, Quinton Byfield smiling with big dimples at the camera, Alex Laferriere, a cropped Kevin Fiala sprawled across their laps, and the top of Phillip Danault’s head.
(6) MANY Kings players posing, but most importantly at the center is Quinton Byfield (shirtless) with Kevin Fiala in his lap. Byfield is twisting his nipples through his shirt from behind.
Slide Seven
text:
The Whimsy Continues
– has a bowtie collection !!! loves em. during a pre-draft interview someone asked him about it and he said this started when he was little. regular ties are too tight around his neck, he feels closed off. q has over 30 bowties
– loves his dog Dudley to death
– q scored in overtime at st. louis and did a train-horn motion while yelling “boom” five times whilst The Rizzler, Big Justice, and A.J. were there. they met after the game
– Tampa and the Pens were his favorite teams growing up. he also spent a lot of time climbing trees as a kid
– chloe bleached his hair for his junior hockey team
– q is a centerman, but, at one point when he was younger he was a d-man. during this time he looked up to Sergei Gonchar, so much so he chose his 55 number because of him
interview image text:
- Chloe, who is a court reporter in downtown Toronto often working on high profile criminal cases, was once called upon to dye Byfield’s hair for a junior playoff run. / “He said I burnt his skull,” Chloe said barely containing her glee at the memory. “I just kept slathering it on and he’s like, ‘stop, stop.’ And I’m like, I need to get it lighter. Just grit your teeth. Suck it up. It builds character.’”
Various photos of Quinton Byfield to the right of the body text slightly overlapping each other.
ID Left to right:
TOP ROW:
(1) Quinton Byfield standing in his driveway in a Sudbury Wolves cap holding his beagle, Dudley, who has a tennis ball in his mouth. Byfield is smiling warmly at Dudley, partly obscured by the dog’s head.
(2) Blurry photo of Byfield with his eyes half closed and Dudley resting peacefully at his side.
(3) Photo of the walk-in tunnel at Crypto.com Arena, a bunch of people in Kings jerseys surround Quinton Byfield and a small child known as The Rizzler. Byfield and The Rizzler are mid-handshake.
BOTTOM ROW:
(1) Byfield taking a photo in Kings gear celebrating his Draft. He grins and poses with Dudley in his arms.
(2) Byfield cuddled up with Dudley on a sofa. Dudley has a red Santa suit on and Byfield wears a Santa Hat with two white braids hanging off the sides. His eyes are shut, his mouth is pouted
(3) Image from a photo shoot. Byfield is shot from the back, standing in the sun with his shirt off. His skin is shiny with sweat.
Slide Eight
text:
Little Facts
– q steals everyones clothes and items. there are so many photos of him stealing his teammates stuff
– one thanksgiving he spent it with the Kopitar's; him and a few other of the younger players. because kopi is from Slovenia he keeps in contact with other pro Slovenia athletes, this lead to Luka Dončić being at that thanksgiving. q was starstruck
– q got a crazy one handed goal against the kraken (shhh he wasn’t holding…)
– you will rarely catch a photo of him with a shirt on. event? It’s coming off.
– everyone is charmed by him. he’s the guy!!!
– for a good while q was using a too-short stick to play. he’d be HUNCHED OVER playing
– he was also chosen to go to team Canada’s Olympic orientation camp for the 2026 games
Various photos of Quinton Byfield to the right of the body text slightly overlapping each other.
ID Left to right:
TOP ROW:
(1) Screencap of a match between the LA Kings and the Seattle Kraken. Quinton Byfield stands in front of the Kraken goal and is engaged in a battle for body position. Byfield has his arms splayed out in a T-pose, one hand holds his stick and the other hand is fastened to the Kraken skater’s stick. Not pictured: the fact that he will actually score a goal during this play.
(2) Byfield in a #21 Kings hoodie belonging to then-teammate Jordan Spence.
MIDDLE ROW:
(1) Byfield during an interview with Daryl Evans in a #61 Kings hoodie belonging to then-teammate Trevor Lewis
(2) Byfield grinning wide while wearing a #80 Kings hoodie belonging to then-teammate Pierre-Luc Dubois
BOTTOM ROW:
(1) Warren Foegele, Quinton Byfield, and Anže Kopitar posing together, each of them in white pressed button downs and holding plastic cups of beer. Foegele has heart framed sunglasses perched on top of his head and his shirt half unbuttoned. Byfield has his shirt fully unbuttoned, he has his arms around Foegele and Kopitar’s shoulders to draw them close for the photo. Kopitar smiles with his haunted eyes. A text reads “fellas” while tagging both Warren and Anže in the photo.
(2) Black and white photo of Quinton Byfield exchanging a gloved high-five with an unidentified teammate, who is obscured by Warren Foegele skating by.
Slide Nine
On a background of a pink, purple, and yellow tinted sunset photo, text reads, “That’s All!!!”
Above the text is a stretched out Byfield family Christmas photo.
ID Left to right:
Quinton in a striped elf hat and holding Dudley who is wearing a soft red collar with white pom-poms, Clinton in a Santa hat, and Chloe in the same elf hat as Quinton as well as a gaudy Christmas sweater.
