“Quinn Could Play Tomorrow” | Buffalo Sabres Coach Don Granato Gives Update On Jack Quinn’s Return

“Quinn Could Play Tomorrow” | Buffalo Sabres Coach Don Granato Gives Update On Jack Quinn’s Return

How is did he just get we’re going to send him uh to get looked at but he took a stick up um and and we’ll get the doctors to look at us uh and wait for the news on it because he started the practice without Bryson but he ended the

Practice with Bryson see we had 7D so I’m not sure why I’m not sure one what you’re referring to or why he wouldn’t have been up with with Bru to start and then halfway through practice he wased well we had we had three defensemen in one color and the other four defenseman

In the other color so some forward had to jump in um and when you have obviously 3D and you go in pairs uh the pairs probably get messed up so cor yeah he is yeah to the very best of my knowledge he is 100% okay yeah

Yeah but that that would have been it in practice just rotation what was your reflection on Jack um he looked really good in practice he fit in uh um I mean obviously he had lots of time while we were gone to skate skated every day or

Every day he was available to push it hard every day he was cleared for that in rehab Skates um you know I thought it’s totally different when you hop into practice conditioning level uh B Puck battles against you know we didn’t have anybody else here to battle him uh when

We were gone that that uh was of the NHL you know no other injured players um so that was a big day for him and I’m sure he’s tired as a result I’ll talk to him after but um he’s very close I would say he is officially dayto day um meaning

You know it could be tomorrow based on the conversation we’ll have following this what does his presence do for the team not just on the ice but we’ve talked about you everyone loves him so much everyone loves him so there’s that Dynamic of energy and Vibrance and

Passion for the game um but look at the analytics it’s it’s his analytic numbers are you know Elite production uh when he’s when he’s you know and you know I’ve talked about him for two years now of how talented he is and and uh what a good hockey player he

Is uh for us and you know like I said I I don’t need to say any more on him just look at the numbers he produces and and we produce when he’s in the lineup um which is again off it makes everybody else better because now the you know

There’s one more highly Talent Ed scorer that’s dangerous uh that the other team has to pay attention to and diverts attention away from Tuck Thompson uh consumes attention demands attention uh of matchups and and worry and concern and that opens up more scoring for everybody else so um you know and as I

Mentioned the numbers show that in spite of whatever successes you might have had line wise on the road trip was it a no-brainer just to put jack right back with Dylan and JJ yeah yeah again and the history of it um you know the energy that they bring um it and those those

Guys as a trio they’re in sync um and and again it it will open up more scoring opportun everybody wants to say you know Thompson hasn’t scored as much and when you don’t have the scoring depth the other team can key more on you when you have you know the the second

Line and third line scoring depth it it preoccupies the attention of the other team to a greater degree and it opens up more space for the next guy to score um so uh putting Quinter back there we know that’s going to be you know the potential right away for them to have

That Dynamic component the familiarity is is there you could see it today in practice and um you know hopefully that opens up and and Krebs has moved up he was with uh Skinner and Benson today and I I like the way those three look they process the game uh you know very well

Offensively uh they’ve all gotten better uh Krebs has gotten much much better defensively Benson has been you know good and strong in that area and I think skinners paid more and more attention to that which is you know more effective uh overall as well and you know I like the

Way those guys process things up the rink uh from the offensive side and you could see a little energy and life there too with with those three together today so you know hopefully uh you know that would be the case Tomorrow based on uh Jack pardon me uh how important is it to

Get him back on like a normal just a normal schedule here with everything that he’s been through for like the the last year and even going Beyond before that when he had the he had the hernia to deal with and um had that end his one season but you know the Achilles then

Whatever this issue was to just get him back back into the flow back to a normal Hockey Life here it it’s you when this injury happened with with Quinn uh you it was it it was pain to watch it from the bench obviously he has the injury

Across the ice from you and and it it looks like it’s a significant injury and it was and you you know everything the kids’s gone through with injuries in the past two seasons um you know which is his career to this point and you thought it was the potential season ending so to

See him come back is and be able to play games right now is really significant um for him and for our team um you know unfortunately with some guys it you know samelson has had the injury bug early in their career it’s it’s sometimes it’s acclimating to the league and situations

Within the league being able to protect yourself better and I think that’s just part of a process with lots of guys uh lots of entries you know guys that enter and part of being you know a younger player is is is adjusting the way you need to adjust sometimes and um but you

Know which I do think these guys do uh adjust their game but it’s it’s significant to have him back for for us as a a team and a franchise and uh certainly for him where he’s at in his career you know you’re still in this

Thing you got five in a row with all here for all the talk of your troubles at home legitimate talk the last two years you’re five- one in the last six at home and you seem to potentially have found a little more Swagger in this building just do you get that sense some

Of those recent home games were a little different and you guys were playing like a team is supposed to play at home I think they were dramatically different uh again mood on the bench uh preparation before the even before the game you could feel feel the difference

Um you know I think you know Rasmus delen is stepped up and Thompson has stepped we the guys have stepped up in in in the recent couple weeks and you know we obviously want that to continue and I don’t see any reason it wouldn’t but um you know let’s say we knew we’re

Going through different phases and you do that um and and you hope when you you hope you when you know you’re going to come out the other side based on the talent skill the guys have in the age that they are you just want to come out

Faster and when you come out the other side you have a lot more experience in hindsight and confidence as a result and they’re showing signs of that and we are um so that that’s all good and you know this would be a great time you mentioned

Five five games in a row to um to hunker down it’s a it it should be an advantage um it is on paper now we have to take take it to to heart and do it based on you know our last few games um so we’ll

See but it’s still one game at a time and you’re never out till you’re out um that’s the way Sports the exciting part about sports and you know we’re I think our locker room feels that way it’s it’s just tomorrow night you looked at trick whether you played well or not the fact

Is in the losses you were it was a one goal game still in third period I think in all three of them you were there right there and you weren’t able to get over the hump and Na and does that almost make it little more aggravating

That you were right there you know maybe you weren’t at your best game in some of them yeah and and you know think about two months ago Paul and you know we we sat in here and and your questions then as they should have been and everybody’s

Was our starts why are we behind in our start and our starts and our starts and every game it was our starts and we haven’t heard that talk anymore and you mentioned both you know games in the Vancouver and in Edmonton uh Detroit uh I don’t remember the scores but they

Were all tight games and they’re all winnable games in the third period because we didn’t it didn’t get out of control and I think the one you heard me on the radio this morning I’m sure the one that frustrated me the most was the Edmonton one because I felt we just

Vacated uh oie uh out of frustration out of the competitive FR you know competitive guys got really frustrated and details became a blur in the last five minutes and we give up three you know unnecessary goals um so yeah there’s there’s frustration there but on the good side um you know the growth

Side was was the fact that we’re we’ve been and you know Opie and our defensive group have kept us in games uh that that are winnable all the way down the stretches um but let’s face it we’re not happy without a win so no matter what

What I just said it’s not good enough back to Jack um you know you’ve talked about his Focus I think you called him a a torpedo at one time homing torpedo homing I remember I remember that saying that because you just he he he visualizes where he needs to go and it’s

He’s on that Target and he stays on it so I apologize Interruption but but but is that and we know as person is that what I mean makes them able to handle this adversity because I mean to go through two injuries like that in whatever six seven months that could

That could break a you know whatever a 22y old and he’s come through it better off it would certainly discourage anybody but when people don’t get discouraged under adversity that that’s a that’s demonstrative of their confidence people that lose you know lose confidence through adversity they don’t have a vision and a

Picture and a determination that I will get there that’s why Tage Thompson through lots of adversity you could see he had the makeup to succeed he driven to succeed in a vision that I’m going to do it so the the the thing right in their Forefront is the injury it’s

Pushing this aside I know where I want to go I see where I want to go and and when they walk in this building you you feel and sense they in their mind know where they want to get to they’re not dwelling on today and the adversity or challenge of today and

That’s Jack I mean you know Jack has such a deep passion love for the game but he’s got a Clear Vision of how good he can be and he knows it so if he didn’t have that confidence he he would be coming to us asking us questions all

The time and and he doesn’t have a vision of where he wants to go he’d be really down but these guys are driven and they have a vision of where they want to go and I used Tasia as an example and middle you know middlestead was that way obviously and and uh

Quinter is is definitely that way in this this situation was there any thought into shutting him down for the season or did that not really Factor him much we you you always have a thought of it until you you know see more of the injury and his rehab and his progress um

But right away with the injury the doctor said hey it’s going to take this amount of time and it’s the doctors were were you know we stick we stuck pretty much to that timetable which was well within the end you know uh games left obviously um but the only thought of

That uh was was you know before the doctors did everything they needed to do you know had the assessment which was two or three days and then after that I was like okay he’s going to be able to return um and should be able to return unless there was a setback and obviously

There was no setback in the rehab process so we feel you know very confident um in his ability to play games for us uh whether that’s tomorrow or the next game he’s he he’ll be ready to go how much do you think he positively impacts Dylan cousins in particular um just the

Way those two work together huge impact and and I think vice versa you know I think if you know Jackson line up and Dylan’s out it’s there’s an effect there I mean these guys are these guys are really good hockey players so you know you take one off their line and screws

Up the entire line um you know and I think AJ has an impact on both of them so yeah it’s it’s it’s team sport so you start losing key players um in a team sport you need you need you know it’s Five Guys on the ice at the same time

Obviously with the goalie um you you miss one piece you’re on a penalty kill you know you have one drop in skill and one drop in Talent on your line it’s CL you’re closer to killing a penalty than you are you know playing five on five

And those guys uh those guys are damn good hockey players doesn’t always set up good for you when you come back from the West is this a better setup for you where you the players can get a good night sleep you know you don’t know the answer to that till tomorrow night well

You saw them today I mean then they fly good night sleep then you get them to practice today yeah then you have a game I mean you saw in practice today did they yeah I mean the practice practice today looked looked good um you know it’s it’s it’s different though you you

Wake up today and you feel differently you know is still you still fight the time change but the answer is always at 7:00 the next night on on the puck drops and and but it’s all relative right if the if the other team is horrible and

And they have a bad night it’s easier for you they have a great night and they’re hitting on all cylinder you got to rise it’s you know there’s always a team on the other side of the the the court or the the rink um it’s it’s all

Relative you know so um you know we we won’t know the answer we’re not going to be happy till unless we win period that’s that’s the answer so I don’t know the answer of how you feel I don’t care how you feel win the game right all right see you guys thanks

Buffalo Sabres head coach Don Granato spoke with the media after the team’s practice on March 26, 2024. He talked about Jack Quinn’s return, an injury update on Lukas Rousek, and more.

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