QUINN LOOKING TO PICK UP RIGHT WHERE HE LEFT OFF

Jan 6, 2022

By Suzie Cool

 

Rochester Americans forward Jack Quinn was absolutely dominant to kick-off the 2021-22 American Hockey League season.

 

In the month of October alone, Quinn had already surpassed his point total from the shortened 2020-21 season in just six games. He totaled 10 points with five goals, five assists and four multi-point efforts. Quinn was on fire and this six-game effort earned him the American Hockey League’s Rookie of the Month honors for the Amerks first month of play.

 

Then November hit, and to no one’s surprise, Quinn continued his torrid start to the year.

 

Eleven games, three multi-point efforts, six goals and eight assists for 14 points. Quinn was clearly hitting his stride and you could tell that he took what he learned from last season and was using that fuel to become an elite player.

 

This dominancy didn’t just appear overnight, though. It began long before Quinn’s time with the Amerks. The motivation and drive to always become better, the extra hours of work, the willingness to want to learn and take in hard conversations – it’s who Quinn is as a player and what makes him so good.

 

But what happens when, for the second time in a year’s span, an elite player of his caliber is sidelined for an extended period of time?

 

As November came to a close, Quinn was hit with, shockingly not COVID, but mononucleosis. An illness that’ll sideline anyone for at least two to four weeks, and especially an athlete who’s more prone to have lingering issues if pushed too hard during the recovery process.

 

“I kind of looked at it like injuries are a part of the game. I don’t know if you’d call this an injury but I’m missing games and there’s a lot worse injuries out there,” commented Quinn when asked how he dealt with his month off mentally. “I missed a month, it’s not a huge deal and I just try to look at it like that.”

 

It’s safe to say that December, and the very beginning of January, looked different for the rookie forward. Nine games were played and the Amerks went 6-3-0-0 over that span, all while Quinn had the opportunity to head home and take it easy around the holidays with his family.

 

“When I got sick, I went home early, back to my hometown with my parents, and it was nice to go home. I played video games, killed time, watched hockey and kind of didn’t do much at all.”

 

Quinn didn’t just hang out for a couple of weeks though; the rookie forward knew he had to take it easy while having mono but continued to do little things to stay game ready for when the time came to get back into action.

 

“They wanted me to not do too much too early, but I mean I did a few little things. In the basement I stick handled a lot down there and did some single-legged squats. Just little things. Nothing crazy at all and then started ramping things up when I got back to Rochester.”

 

And this was the exact reason as to why Amerks head coach Seth Appert had no doubts that Quinn would come back ready to perform.

 

“The base you have as an athlete with the way that you train sets you up for success, but it also sets you up to come back from illness and injury quicker than others. A player like Jack, with the way he approaches things, it’s just going to be quicker and he’s young so that helps, too.”

 

Although Quinn feels as if he won’t be back to full throttle for a game or two, Appert has zero worries about how the young forward will continue to perform.

 

“He is a savage worker. It’s hard to even explain the amount of work that young man does,” commented Appert when asked about the way Quinn has set himself up to see success despite missing games.

 

Appert then continued by saying, “I had zero worries about the way he would come back because of the way he trains and how he takes care of himself.”

 

Quinn made his highly anticipated return last night against the Syracuse Crunch at The Blue Cross Arena. A long-awaited comeback for Quinn and his teammates, according to Appert.

 

“For Jack, he’s such an important piece of what we’re doing here, and he has been for two years now. He’s beloved in the locker room, the energy, he’s got this great presence about him, so the guys are very excited.”

 

Quinn’s performance in his return saw him record three shots on goal in what turned out to be a physical game for the 20-year-old. After what seemed like Syracuse was targeting the young forward for a majority of the game, Quinn eventually left the contest with a five-minute major in the final minutes of play.

 

The penalty was Quinn’s first fight in pro hockey and Appert didn’t feel this was a newfound feistiness coming from the young forward, he’s always just been a physically competitive player.

 

“Jack’s a physically competitive player. I think that Syracuse was certainly trying to take runs at him a little bit and be physical on him but he’s one of the better players in the league so that’s understandable.”

 

“A little rusty for sure. Legs and cardio are a little behind from where I was before mono,” said Quinn when asked what he thought of his performance in his first game back. “By the third I felt I kind of got my second wind and was a lot better out there. That’s a good sign moving into Friday.”

There’s still plenty of games left for Quinn to pick up where he left off the month of November.

Quinn still sits in the top 15 in the league with his 24 points and his 11 goals are tied for second amongst all rookie skaters.

 

Quinn looks to continue his trend upward on Friday night at The Blue Cross Arena as the Amerks host the Hartford Wolf Pack at 7:05 p.m.