Jack Quinn scored just 15 goals in 74 appearances last season. It was underwhelming production for the Buffalo Sabres winger, who once looked like a future 30-goal scorer, and head coach Lindy Ruff wasn't afraid to deliver consistently blunt criticism.
The 2020 first-round draft pick still looked a stride or two slow throughout the 2024-25 campaign, which marked his first full year back after suffering a ruptured Achilles during the 2023 offseason, and he didn't get to the most dangerous areas of the ice on a regular basis.
"I think Lindy was pretty hard on me last year," Quinn told Bill Hoppe of the Times Herald. "He thought I needed to get a lot stronger and a lot faster to be able to be a goal scorer in this league, so he challenged me to do that."
The 24-year-old Canadian added Ruff's criticisms were "probably pretty accurate" and helped guide an offseason where he spent much of his time trying to improve his skating.
"Tried to get stronger and faster and worked on my skating a lot, too," Quinn told Hoppe. "It's noticeable for me. I don't think I've dominated by any means, but I feel a lot better."
Now the Sabres hope that'll translate into a breakthrough season for the high-upside forward.
Jack Quinn trying to parlay pointed critiques from Lindy Ruff into a more productive 2025-26 campaign
Quinn looked like a budding Sabres cornerstone early in his NHL career. He scored 39 points (15 goals and 24 assists) through his first 77 games with Buffalo, and he was just 21 years old.
The Achilles injury, which occurred during an offseason workout, represented a massive setback and he's never appeared to fully recover. He was never the most dynamic skater, and the lack of force in his skating has been obvious over the past two years.
To Ruff, it's obvious the former 50-goal scorer for the OHL's Ottawa 67's still has more to give and he's been trying to bring it out of him.
"You look at a tough year, and he still ended putting up 15 goals ... on what we say was a poor year for him," Ruff told Hoppe. "I think sometimes maybe when a player's at that level, he's stepping in the right direction. But I think there's more there."
Buffalo desperately needs players to step up after it traded JJ Peterka, a former member of the Kid Line alongside Quinn, to the Utah Mammoth over the summer.
Quinn can be part of the solution. He's projected to skate on a middle-six line with fellow under-25 players Jiri Kulich and Josh Doan, but it's possible a strong start could put him in the conversation to skate on the Sabres' top line with Josh Norris and Tage Thompson.
In the big picture, the Ontario native has a couple season to prove he's still part of the long-term answer in Buffalo. He signed a two-year, $6.75 million contract extension and by the end of it the Sabres front office will have to make a decision about whether it's time to move on.
Quinn's offensive talent is undeniable but whether his physical ability will ever allow that skill set to truly shine through is up for debate.
One thing's for sure: Ruff is trying to bring that best version of Quinn to the ice in 2025-26.