It has been a long wait for Jack Quinn to hear his named called in the 2020 NHL Draft.
He didn't have to wait too long on Tuesday night as the Buffalo Sabres made Quinn their first selection with the eighth overall pick.
"I knew that my meetings went well with Buffalo. We had some great talks, but at the same time, I had no expectations or I had no idea where I was going to go," Quinn said via a Zoom conference call after being drafted by the Sabres on Tuesday. "I knew that it was a good spot and the talks went well, but I was not expected to go [where I did]."
The 19-year-old is coming off an impressive season in the Ontario Hockey League with the Ottawa 67's, where he scored 52 goals and added 37 assists for 89 points in 62 games. He finished the 2019-20 campaign with the second-most goals in the league, only behind Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Nick Robertson, but he became the fourth player in the OHL since the 2019-20 season to score at least 50 goals in their draft year.
In his first full OHL season the year before this past one, Quinn only managed 12 goals and 20 assists for 32 points in 61 games with the 67's. It was quite the turnaround for Quinn, who credits that to his change of mindset in the summer of 2019 while preparing for his draft year.
"I had a great offseason training-wise and a great skill coach, and I think those things translated through the year," Quinn explained. "One big thing André [Tourigny] was hard on me about, my coach, was getting to the inside of the ice and using my competitiveness to get to the middle of the ice and score goals that way and not sit back and just try to make plays. I think my mindset changed a lot from one year to the next, and that was a big difference."
With the production that Quinn put up in his draft year this past season, it certainly looks promising for his future outlook of a potential goal scorer at the NHL level.
According to NHL Central Scouting, Quinn is a "dynamic skater that can fly with the puck on his stick. Lethal shot with an exceptional release. Strong two-way game. Plays in all situations. Sniper with highlight reel goal-scoring ability."
They list his current comparable NHL player as Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon.
When it comes to what Quinn thinks he can bring to the Sabres going forward, he did not shy away from his offensive upside.
"I think I'm an offensive player, a shoot-first guy. I like to score goals, but I think I'm also just an offensive driver," Quinn said. "I like to hold on to the puck, make plays with the puck and make my linemates better, but I can also be good defensively and kill penalties. I like to compete all over the ice."
The 6-foot-1, 176-pound right-shot winger said that he's already been hard at work this offseason getting ready for the 2020-21 season. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic canceling the 2020 OHL Playoffs and cutting his season short, Quinn has been hard at work in the gym on a few things that will get him prepared for a chance to make the Sabres' roster come January.
"My two main things I wanted to work on are my speed, kind of my skating with being more explosive and just being a better skater. I think I can always be a better skater and it will help me be a better goal scorer if I can be a little quicker," Quinn said. "And just being a little more solid too, stable on my feet kind of thing. When a big guy tried to knock me off the puck or something, if I can hold him off and make a play."
"I can obviously make a lot of improvements in my game, but at the same time, I think I want to prove that I'm ready to play in the NHL next year. If the team decides that I need one more year in juniors, I'll use that to work on my game and I think the year after that I'll definitely be ready to play."
Although he was just drafted by the Sabres on Tuesday, Quinn has not gotten to take some time to get to know the city of Buffalo just yet. He says that he knows how great of a sports town and hockey town Buffalo is, and he's very excited to try and be part of the team when the opportunity presents itself.
As for the team, Quinn is very familiar with one player in particular having watched him over the years at the NHL level. That player is Sabres captain Jack Eichel.
"He's one of my favorite players," Quinn said. "I love the way he does things on the ice. I watch a lot of YouTube [videos] about him just to try and pick up some things, so I love him as a player. It's obviously really exciting to hopefully be future teammates with him down the road and get on the ice with him."
The Sabres will next pick with the 38th overall selection when the second round of the draft commences Wednesday morning.
You can listen to his entire conference call below:
Coverage of the 2020 NHL Draft is presented by:
- Outlet Liquor
- Fiegel, Carr and Joyce
- Black Rock/Brighton-Eggert Pharmacies