Buffalo Sabres: Will Jack Quinn win the Calder Trophy?
Jack Quinn is almost a shoo-in to join the Buffalo Sabres roster full-time in 2022-23 and he could be a prime candidate to win the coveted Calder Trophy.
Quinn can win. We all know that, given his phenomenal season with the Buffalo Sabres AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans. Quinn made a cameo appearance with the team this past season, scoring two points in two games. Unfortunately, an injury sidelined him and the Sabres reassigned him back to Rochester.
But talk about a jump. In just 45 games, Quinn scored 61 points (26 goals) en route to earning the Red Garrett Award for Rookie of the Year. He and teammate J.J. Peterka also found themselves on the All-Rookie AHL Team.
However, Quinn’s performance did not translate in the Calder Cup Playoffs. He scored two points in 10 games, both assists, and appeared to be completely overmatched as opponents keyed on him. So can Quinn put his forgettable playoff performance behind him and win the Calder Trophy? Keep reading for more.
Can Buffalo Sabres winger Jack Quinn win the Calder Memorial Trophy in 2022-23?
Barring anything unforeseen, Quinn will be a member of the Buffalo Sabres roster in 2022-23. He will likely team up with the likes of other promising rookies in Peterka and Owen Power. And while Power is the favorite on the Sabres roster to win the Calder Trophy, it doesn’t mean Quinn won’t sneak up and pull off an upset.
We don’t know how good Quinn would have been had he not gotten hurt. And we need to ask ourselves: Would he have stuck around in Buffalo, or would the Sabres have reassigned him back to Rochester at some point?
We do know how well he played and how much of a jump Quinn made during his second season (first full season) in the AHL. So let’s discuss why Quinn will, and why he won’t, win the Calder.
Why Quinn wins the Calder
If the 2021-22 regular season showed us anything, it revealed that Quinn can be up and down, but mostly up. And when he is up, the sky is the floor and the universe is the limit. Quinn proved he can score from anywhere on the ice, and that he displays a team-first mentality.
While he and Peterka probably won’t see themselves as members of the top six immediately, if Quinn’s performances are even close to what we had seen last season both at the NHL and AHL levels, look for head coach Don Granato to at least rotate him into the top six.
If Quinn continues to fare well on the second line – it would be hard to envision him playing on the top scoring line – then he will be in the running for the Calder. Given his past performances, it is not farfetched to believe he will score at least 25 goals and log 30-plus assists. Especially as his ice time increases.
If he scores in the neighborhood of 55-60 points and logs a decent shooting percentage with some defensive plays here or there, Quinn will be in strong consideration to win the Calder.
Why Quinn won’t win the Calder
One big red flag regarding Quinn is that he’s injury-prone, something he showed twice this past season. Now, he’s still young enough to shed that label, and let’s be cautiously optimistic that he does. But we also know, thanks to his lackluster playoff performance, that he can be inconsistent.
Not saying those inconsistencies will haunt him this season, but right now, the ball is not in his court. If Quinn continues to struggle on the lower lines like he did in the postseason, odds are, his average ice time won’t increase beyond 15 minutes this season. If that happens, look for the production projected in the previous slide to decrease by at least one-third.
This would put him at 17 goals and 20 assists for 37 points. Not a bad number for a rookie, but nothing that will win him the coveted Calder Trophy. This number could decrease further if Quinn’s injury issues linger and he winds up missing extended time for a second straight season.
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Overall, Quinn may be a strong candidate, along with teammates Owen Power and J.J. Peterka to win the Calder Memorial Trophy. He has already shown he has the talent and production to win the award. But Quinn also showed us why the Calder may elude him.
(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference and Hockey DB)