Kevin Quick

Name: Kevin Quick
Position: Defenseman
Shoots: Left
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 175 lbs
Born: 3/29/88
Acquired: 2006 Entry Draft, 3rd Round, 78 Overall

Junior Career
Quick stars for Salisbury in the Connecticut high school ranks where, in 2005-2006, the young defenseman scored 3 goals and 23 points in 28 games with 6 penalty minutes and an amazing +45 rating helping Salisbury capture the New England prep hockey championship. At season's end, Quick was rated the 93rd best North American skater by the NHL's Central Scouting Service and the 63rd best prospect overall by the Red Line Report. During the summer of 2006 Quick attended the Lightning's prospect development camp in Tampa where he was named the "unofficial MVP" by General Manager Jay Feaster. Quick was selected in the 18th round, 163rd overall, by the Green Bay Gamblers in the 2006 USHL Entry Draft, but chose to forego a year of US junior hockey to return to Salisbury for his senior year of prep school. In November of 2006 Quick committed to Michigan of the CCHA where he played his freshman season in 2007-2008. Everything appeared to be on track for Quick at Michigam and by midseason of his first year with the Wolverines he was playing regular minutes on the blueline posting 2 goals and 4 points in 21 games with 12 penalty minutes. However, Quick destroyed his college career quickly by becoming embroiled in an identity theft scandal in which he stole from a teammate of his on the Michigan hockey club. In February of 2008, Quick was dismissed permanently from the club while facing charges from the Ann Arbor police.

Professional Career
After being kicked out of school for his poor decisions off the ice, Quick was given a second chance by the Lightning organization and signed an amateur tryout contract with the Norfolk Admirals. In 18 games with the Admirals, Quick had 4 assists and 6 penalty minutes and a -7 rating. He is expected to be signed to his entry level NHL contract in the summer of 2008 and will likely spend the next few seasons learning his craft against grown men in the AHL.

Talent Analysis
Pros:
Quick is an excellent skater and talented puckhandler who helped lead his team to the New England Prep School championship. He has a hard one time shot on the power play and is as smart in the defensive zone as he is in the offensive third of the ice as he was +45 after 20 games this season. He doesn't have ideal size but he isn't afraid to mix it up physically. Red Line compares him to Buffalo's Brian Campbell and sees him as a player who was "definitely flying under the radar" going into the draft.

Cons:
Undersized. Has only played prep level competition to this point and it remains to be seen how he will handle the next level of hockey.

Future
Prior to his off ice issues at Michigan, Quick was considered one of the organization's brightest prospects and the heir apparent to Dan Boyle some day. Although it does not compare to the damage done to his reputation, Quick's mistakes have probably hurt his development as well. Expect the next season or two to be a difficult adjustment period for Quick. Just a year ago he was playing against teenagers in prep school. Now he is playing in the second best hockey league in the world. He has the talent to make the transition and become a top four defenseman in the NHL, but the road just became much more difficult.

Statistics Courtesy hockeydb.com.

Profile created 2/19/07 by Pete Choquette