A WEEK IN THE LIFE OF JACK QUINN
Jan 17, 2022By Suzie Cool
Is it safe to say that the first two seasons of Rochester Americans forward Jack Quinn's pro career have been nothing short of chaotic?
There’s been a condensed 2020-21 campaign where Quinn played in 15 games and registered nine points before his shortened season got cut, well, even shorter due to a season-ending surgery. Then Quinn has a little bit of a longer offseason to make sure he’s fully ready to go for the 2021-22 campaign and he comes out swinging.
No, he doesn’t start the season with the Buffalo Sabres like everyone anticipated. Quinn was reassigned to Rochester during Sabres Training Camp and the top prospect was more than okay with continuing to grow his game in the American Hockey League, claiming he had unfinished business to attend to.
This mindset showed through as in the month of October alone Quinn had already surpassed his point total from the truncated 2020-21 season in just six games with 10 points. And with those five goals, five assists and four multi-point efforts in just six games, Quinn was dubbed the AHL’s Rookie of the Month back in the Amerks first month of play.
Fast forward to November and Quinn continued to keep on, quite literally, shooting his shot. In 11 games, Quinn registered another three multi-point efforts, six goals and eight assists. Quinn was rolling and his offseason efforts were shining through.
WATCH: THE QUINN-TESSENTIAL PERFORMANCE
However, that roll came to an abrupt stop when the 20-year-old was hit with mononucleosis at the beginning of December.
As he was recovering, Quinn went on to miss nine games with the Amerks and made his long-awaited return to the lineup on Jan. 5 against the Syracuse Crunch.
He failed to find the scoresheet in his first game back, one of his just times all season he didn’t produce a point, but the rookie forward battled hard against a team that clearly had it out for him. Quinn left the game in the final minutes of the contest with his first fight as a pro.
And from then on, a lot of firsts would be made for Quinn over the next week.
Quinn went on to play in a pair of games with Rochester over the weekend of Jan. 7 and 8, registering another multi-point effort on the year with a goal and an assist against the Hartford Wolf Pack. Then, Quinn would finally get the call that he’s been waiting for, for a long time.
Here’s a closer look at what Quinn went through in his last week between the National Hockey League and the AHL.
Sunday, Jan. 9: Quinn gets the call from Amerks head coach Seth Appert that he’s being recalled to the Sabres taxi squad. Just three games after making his comeback from mono, Quinn had appeared in 20 games with Rochester, registering 12 goals, 14 assists and eight multi-point efforts – earning his way to the NHL
Monday, Jan. 10: While the Amerks continued their usual 11 a.m. practice last Monday, Quinn got to take part in his first practice in Buffalo. Word gets out that there’s potential we’re going to be seeing Quinn make his NHL debut the very next day against the defending Stanley Cup Champions.
Tuesday, Jan. 11: It’s official, Quinn is set to make his NHL debut against the Tampa Bay Lightning. In the Sabres 6-1 loss against the Lightning, Quinn became the 101st AHL player to make his NHL debut this season while logging 16:30 of total ice and leading Buffalo with a team-high three shots and six shot attempts.
We would bet that Quinn’s rookie lap felt pretty sweet.
Additionally, Quinn’s Rochester teammates and coaching staff were more than excited for the rookie to get his first shot at the best league in the world. Teammates like defenseman Mattias Samuelsson and forward Ryan Scarfo even made the trek to go and see Quinn’s debut in person.
Wednesday, Jan. 12 : About 12 hours after his NHL debut, Quinn was reassigned to Rochester and thrown into the lineup against the first-place Utica Comets. Quinn’s return was nothing short of sweet as the rookie forward went on to notch his first four-point effort as a pro, and of the week, with a power-play goal and three assists as the Amerks prevailed 7-6 over the Comets.
The shot on Quinn’s power-play marker was an absolute beaut.
What’s most impressive about Quinn and his efforts on Wednesday night against the Comets is that his feet are always where he’s at. From making his NHL debut the night prior, Quinn came right back to the Rochester roster and wanted to be there for his teammates to help them win this game.
Friday, Jan. 14: On Friday, Quinn would play in his third game in four days as the Amerks took on the Belleville Senators. As Rochester fell 4-3 to Belleville in the shootout effort, Quinn was held scoreless for just the sixth time this season in his 23 games with the Amerks.
And Quinn, not being happy with his efforts, knew that he had less than 24 hours to turn things around against the Senators in their back-to-back matchups.
Saturday, Jan. 15: Turn things around you say? Quinn did just that with his second four-point effort on the week, but this time the stats were flipped as he registered three goals and one assist for his first hat trick in the pros.
QUINN'S FIRST OF TWO GOALS IN THE SECOND PERIOD
AND ANOTHER, THIS TIME ON THE POWER-PLAY
HERE'S THE LAST ONE FOR GOOD MEASURE BECAUSE NOTHING IS SWEETER THAN HUGGING TOUR BESTIE AFTER YOUR FIRST HATTY AS A PRO
I mean seriously, the friendship is real as Quinn let’s Samuelsson in on his picture with the puck from his hat trick:
And just like that Quinn wrapped up another stellar week in the AHL doing, well, Jack Quinn kinds of things. On the week Quinn played in four games in five games between the Sabres and Rochester. In three games with Rochester, he went on to notch two four-point outings, four goals, two power-play markers, one game-winning goal, four assists and his first professional hat trick.
Just another week in the life of Amerks rookie forward, Jack Quinn everybody.