Buffalo Sabers prospect Jack Quinn took advantage of a power play to score his first career National Hockey League (NHL) goal on Thursday, but a lower-body injury ruined his night.
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Indeed, the organization’s general manager, Kevyn Adams, told NHL.com that the 20-year-old hockey player will miss games. A magnetic resonance imaging exam was scheduled later in the day, which should tell more about the extent of the injury.
This absence of an indefinite period is certainly a pity, both for the athlete concerned and for his trainer Don Granato who had visibly been impressed by his prowess the day before.
“What purpose! It was a magnificent goal, reacted Granato, despite the 5-4 loss of his team against the Dallas Stars. It was on the power play, but if he has time like that, that’s what he can do.
Quinn’s shot into the top corner left goalkeeper Braden Holtby no chance.
“He knows where to put the puck, it was fantastic,” added the coach, quoted on the NHL website.
Selected eighth overall in the 2020 draft, Quinn does indeed have the profile of a maverick. During his last season at the junior level, in 2019-2020 with the Ottawa 67’s, he scored 52 goals in 62 games. Aided by then-teammate Marco Rossi, Quinn finished the campaign with 89 points.
Since then, however, the Sabers prospect has continued to be successful. Despite being sidelined for a month with mononucleosis, he had 35 points, including 18 goals, in just 24 games with the Rochester Americans of the American League.
A special moment
His first NHL goal may not be his last, but it will forever be etched in his memory.
“It’s something you dream of,” he testified. It was very special to see the puck go into the net and it was exciting to celebrate with my teammates.”
In the Sabres’ loss, Quinn, in his second NHL game, also added an assist on a shorthanded Dylan Cozens goal.
– Still on the bad news front, Sabers goaltender Malcolm Subban underwent surgery for an upper-body injury and will miss the rest of the season.