QUINN AND PETERKA CONNECTION IS NOTHING SHORT OF EXTRAORDINARY
Oct 26, 2021By Suzie Cool
Three games into the Rochester Americans 2021-22 season and one thing is very clear; the connection between young rookie forwards Jack Quinn and JJ Peterka is real. Never mind the fact they were taken 26 picks apart from one another by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2020 NHL Draft. These two are on a whole new level.
With any team, you never know how line combinations are going to work out and who is really going to mesh with one another once they hit the ice. Amerks head coach Seth Appert knows this all too well after having to come up with a plethora of line combos last season with players constantly being recalled to the Buffalo Sabres, their taxi squad or signing to a professional tryout a day before a game.
However, Appert isn’t surprised that Quinn and Peterka have found so much success already as they’re two talented young prospects on the rise in the organization.
“They’re two very talented players that both have a high work ethic. You never know what chemistry might exist as a coach, so you’re always looking to tweak things.”
Appert went on to talk about the pair saying, “Jack, even though he’s playing wing, he’s a play-driving winger, which if you have the puck a lot, then that allows JJ’s speed to potentially become a real threat.”
That play-driving mentality and speed were apparent in the Amerks’ two contests this past weekend against the Syracuse Crunch and Toronto Marlies.
In three games, the pair has combined for 11 points with five goals and six assists. Ten of those points came in over the weekend when Quinn and Peterka managed to tally four goals and six assists, with Peterka’s first AHL goal coming in the third period of Friday’s contest against the Crunch along with two helpers for his first multi-point outing.
Prior to the start of the 2021-22 campaign, Peterka was one of the last players reassigned to Rochester from Buffalo, and as this would be a disappointment for some, the 19-year-old was excited to get to play with others who are around the same age as him and are looking to find their groove in the American Hockey League.
When asked how he’s able to see success with Quinn so early on in the season Peterka said, “From day one on, I think in the Prospects Challenge, we had some good chemistry, but I think now that we’ve played a lot together it’s getting better and better and it’s a lot of fun to play with him.”
I think it’s safe to say that Quinn feels the same exact way, especially since the two think of the game in a similar manner when it comes to their hockey sense.
“We probably think of the game alike quite a bit, in terms of hockey sense. I think, when you’re two offensive players you kind of learn each other’s tendencies and, like I said, we think the game alike so it kind of meshes together quicker.”
Looking at Quinn’s stats from the shortened 2020-21 campaign, the young forward appeared in 15 games with Amerks notching nine points. After getting an assist in his first game with Rochester on Feb. 18, Quinn didn’t get another point for almost an entire month while finally scoring a goal seven games into his pro career and recording just two multi-point efforts on the season.
With that being said, COVID-19 did throw a wrench in a lot of plans last year, including Quinn’s intention of heading back to the Ontario Hockey League. However, as the OHL was shut down for 2020-21, it allowed Quinn the unexpected opportunity to jumpstart his pro career with the Amerks.
Quinn didn’t exactly perform how he wanted to in his first professional season, and to top it off, it ended quite abruptly as he underwent season-ending hernia surgery to be able to rehab and be ready to go for the beginning of the 2021-22 campaign.
“Last year, obviously, I struggled a little bit and was nowhere near where I wanted to be. In the 15 games I think I learned a lot about the league and was able to have a lot better of a mindset this year.”
Quinn then went on to add how he’s trying to get back to scoring like he did in juniors.
“What I’m trying to do is kind of get back to how I scored in juniors by getting to the dirty areas and all that stuff, all the little habits.”
The now 20-year-old has flourished through his first three games in his second tour with Rochester, racking up six points with four goals. Quinn has managed to already double his goal tally from last season, matched his number of multi-point efforts with two, notched his first three-point game on Oct. 22 against the Crunch and tallied his first two-goal effort on Oct. 23 in Toronto.
Quite the stat line for Quinn three games into the season, however, it doesn’t go unnoticed that when he feels chemistry on a line, he feels he can be twice the player with twice the scoring chances.
“I think any time you have a chemistry with a line you’re pretty much twice the player and you get twice the opportunities, so I think that’s a huge thing for offensive players. Me and JJ, I think, work really well together and it’s exciting because it’s only game two and I think we can build a lot.”
Although it’s easy to continue to marvel over two of the top prospects in Sabres pipeline doing, well, top prospects kinds of things, it shouldn’t be overlooked that this line wouldn’t be possible without a centerman holding the wings together. The glue to this young and thriving line is that of fourth-year pro Sean Malone, who’s in his second stint with the Amerks after spending last season with the Chicago Wolves.
Quinn couldn’t help but mention how the connection that he and Peterka have found wouldn’t be possible without Malone’s intensity and competitive nature helping guide them.
“Malone might get overlooked a little bit because me and JJ are top prospects. He’s the glue to the line, he’s so good out there and we definitely wouldn’t have the connection we do without him in the middle.”
On the other hand, Peterka knows that Malone has far more pro experience than he and Quinn and that they can both take a lot away from him in practice and games.
“He brings in a lot of experience and ‘Quinner’ and I can learn a lot from him. I mean, he’s played a bit more seasons than us in pro. I think every practice and every game we can learn a lot from him and how he plays the game.”
In fact, Malone notched the game-winner during Friday’s contest against the Crunch in which Peterka and Quinn added the helpers. When asked about the Peterka and Quinn line combo after the game, Appert made sure to add on how we can’t overlook the play of Malone this season and how he brings poise to a young line still trying to find their game.
“I don’t think we should overlook the play of Sean Malone between them, because I thought he was absolutely fantastic. How physical he played, blocking shots, winning face-offs and doing dirty things to help give those guys success.”
With all the success that is highlighted, there’s still the mistakes that every young player is going to make when trying to find their game in a new league. There are the turnovers, everyone is a good player, the league is physically demanding, and everyone is a competitor trying to stay in the American Hockey League or make it to the National Hockey League.
It seems no matter what moments the Amerks may come across this season, Appert is more than content in having young players like Quinn and Peterka fighting through them in order to learn from mistakes and gain confidence.
“That’s the beauty in being out there in big moments, right? We’re trying to finish a tight game, we have a lead in the third period and as a coach it’s easy to just go to Jankowski, Mersch, Murray – all of those veteran type of guys.”
Appert then went on to add, “Jack Quinn, JJ Peterka and Linus Weissbach, all those guys need to be in those moments and need to learn from some mistakes in those moments and gain confidence from success in those moments.”