Jack Quinn’s rise has been building for years, and now it’s arriving in Buffalo in full view.
The Sabres winger is off to the kind of start that turns old draft debates into footnotes. Through nine games, Quinn has five goals and nine points, and his four-point night against Toronto on Oct. 15 stands out as one of the biggest performances of his career.
He’s also logging a career-high 19:34 per game, well above his 15:03 career average, while shooting 20.8 percent. That number may not hold, but the production and the pace are impossible to miss.
That’s a sharp turn from the way some people viewed Buffalo’s decision to take him eighth overall in 2020. Marco Rossi, Quinn’s Ottawa 67’s teammate, was taken one pick later by Minnesota and was seen by many as the more complete player.
Cole Perfetti and Anton Lundell were also still on the board, and Quinn’s reputation at the time centered almost entirely on his finishing touch. He had just come off a 52-goal season, but questions lingered about whether he could offer enough beyond scoring.
The path that followed was anything but ordinary. Quinn never went back to the OHL after the draft because the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out the 2020-21 season, and that pushed him straight into the AHL before he made his NHL debut the next year.
He became a full-time Sabre in 2022-23, had some early struggles, then saw his 2023-24 season end because of injury. He returned for a full season the following year and finished with 39 points.
Then came last season’s 20-goal, 51-point breakout, the year that really told the league he was for real.
At 25, Quinn looks like a player who has kept adding pieces to his game. The finishing was always there.
He was a dangerous scorer in minor hockey in Ottawa, put up 21 goals as a 16-year-old in the CCHL, and then followed a quiet 32-point first season with the 67’s by exploding for 52 goals the next year. His shot has always been his calling card, especially that precise wrister and a willingness to unload one-timers from just about anywhere.
But he wasn’t just a shooter. Quinn would win puck battles along the boards, work his way into the slot, and stay active around the crease to hunt rebounds.
His hockey sense showed up in the way he found the right spots at the right time. Even with the concerns, the scoring touch was too loud to ignore.
Still, the doubts were real. His draft-year line of 89 points included only 37 assists, and scouts picked apart his defensive game and skating.
His playmaking was a particular concern, with too many moments where he forced plays instead of showing patience. One scout put it this way: “He had a pro-level shot before he even touched OHL ice,” one scout said.
“But we’ve seen plenty of kids who can shoot fizzle out in the NHL the minute they weren’t on the power play or the top line.”
Quinn has answered those questions over time. He has added speed over the last five years, and his passing game has taken a noticeable step forward, especially with 31 assists last season.
Buffalo doesn’t need him to be its lone finishing threat, either, with Tage Thompson and Josh Doan giving the team other options in that department. Quinn has adapted well to that setup.
The numbers back it up. According to MoneyPuck, Quinn leads the Sabres in points per 60 at 3.07, ranks second in shot attempts at 17.03, is first in shooting percentage at 20.8, and sits atop the team in on-ice expected goals percentage.
He has mostly skated with Zach Benson and Noah Ostlund this season, and that group has posted an expected goals percentage of 66.3, which ranks eighth in the NHL. Quinn’s own 5-on-5 Corsi-for percentage is 59.23, another sign that Buffalo is simply better when he’s on the ice.
He’s also proven himself in the shootout. Last season, he converted five of six tries, second-best among players with at least five attempts behind Jesper Bratt’s perfect mark. Quinn is 0-for-1 this season, though the sample is tiny.
With the way he’s producing and the way he’s being used, a 40-goal season doesn’t look far-fetched. He’s currently on pace for 47 goals, which will likely come down, but 40 is a real number for a player whose shot is still one of the best on the roster.
For a while, the breakout felt delayed. Now it looks like the Sabres are finally getting the version of Quinn many projected all along: a top-six scorer who can drive play, make more than just the obvious shot, and hold his own as a legitimate NHL force.
Thompson may be the expected engine, but Quinn has been right there with him. He’s even shown he’ll drop the gloves if the moment calls for it.
The talent was always obvious. The polish just took some time.
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