Link-O-Rama About Kevin Quick

As Bob Miller reported on The Yost Post, Michigan received a commitment late last week from Salisbury prep defenseman Kevin Quick, a 2006 third round draft pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning. He’s listed as 6’0” 175. Last year for the 25-1-2 Varsity team, he posted a 3-20—23 line and was +45 with only 6 PIMs.

Here’s a sampling of information from around the internet on the newest Wolverine verbal:

Western College Hockey says this about him:

“All-around solid defenseman. Does everything pretty well. 11th best defenseman at 2005 Select 17 Festival.Drafted 78th by Tampa Bay in 2006 NHL Draft. Narrowed choices down to Michigan, Ohio State, Clarkson, and Providence.”

McKeen has a long question and answer with him from February of 2006. It’s well worth the read. Quick says that, “I think I am an offensive defenseman, and also can play solid defense. I can join the rush and create an odd man advantage and still get back to play defense. My strengths would be passing, and skating. I think I am a good skater. My weaknesses would be I need to get bigger and stronger and this will help improve many areas of my game, and burying more of my chances.”

He also goes on to say that Billy Sauer is one of the five best players he has ever played against. “[He’s] an amazing goalie who is a great kid off the ice too. He is a sound goalie who is consistent and we see that this year at Michigan. He holds teams in games and helped a lot in winning the nationals with the Buffalo Saints a few years ago.”

All due respect to our new young’un, but I don’t think “consistent” would be the first word I’d use to describe Billy Sauer’s play last year.

McKeen also raves about him in the “player profile” section:

03/28/2006 - An excellent skater with loads of offensive potential .. good vision and good hands .. not afraid to get involved in the physical aspect of the game .. not an overly aggressive checker, but good at clearing bodies in front of his team's net .. follows plays and anticipates quite well .. shows remarkable patience with the puck and possesses a good, hard shot .. whenever the opportunity presents itself, he is willing to jump up to join in offensive situations. His patience under pressure proved to be very valuable at the end of the game when Salisbury took the lead .. never scrambled when Taft swarmed around the net .. an effortless skater, who has shifty moves for a defenseman .. played a ton of minutes with Alex Biega .. his draft stock could have gone up a bit with his performance.

01/01/2006 - A member of the USA U-18 team, Quick is not only very responsible in his own zone, but also possesses solid offensive capabilities .. shows an ability to carry the puck up the ice and is an integral part of Salisbury's power play .. moves the puck extremely well and makes hard, sharp passes .. also boasts a good point shot which he consistently keeps low and on target .. very quick on his feet .. displays impressive two-way instincts and is a legitimate pro prospect.

09/02/2005 - (u18) solid all-around defenseman was at his best early on, but retreated for a more stay-at-home style deeper into the tournament. Scouting: good skater for his size with decent ability and lateral movement .. acceptably strong on his feet .. mobile enough to stay with his man at most times .. sound, safe positionally .. some offensive upside, as he has good enough hands to corral most passes and make quick, accurate feeds .. good instincts and hockey sense .. hard slap shot but struggles with accuracy .. has an edge and doesn't lose position when going for a hit .. effective and persistent playing along the boards.

From Hockey’s Future:

The smooth-skating, offensively skilled (yet defensively responsible) playmaking defenseman was invited to Tampa Bay’s summer prospect camp. Quick made perhaps the biggest impact of any of the invites, bringing dynamic playmaking ability with levelheaded decision-making far beyond his years to camp.

They say he’s likely a power-play QB.

Boltprospects.com has this profile:

Quick is a US high school player out of Salisbury Prep in New England who fills the Lightning's role need for an offensive defenseman. 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 this draft. As of our latest information he has yet to commit to a college.

Positives: Outstanding skater with excellent balance and agility. Confident puckhandler and loves to jump into the play. Smart at both ends of the ice. Not afraid to get involved physically.
Negatives: 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.

They list him as Tampa Bay’s 13^th best prospect (HF has him 18^th) and as the 5^th best blue-liner in the organization.

In another article, they drop the JJ bomb:

The 6-foot, 175-pound defenseman took his official visit to the CCHA school this past weekend. Considering that Quick has drawn comparisons to current Michigan defensive standout Jack Johnson, his decision to play for the Wolverines bodes well for his continued development.

Lightning General Manager Jay Feaster called the choice "great," saying Michigan is "one of the best programs in the country."

"[Kevin] will be well-coached and well-developed there," Feaster stated. "I believe it is an excellent choice."

Tampa Bay’s official site talks about him after the draft, and uses the obvious play on his name to talk about his speed:

With its second pick, in the third round, the Lightning selected a defenseman tailor-made for the new NHL, Kevin Quick from The Salisbury (prep) School in Salisbury, Connecticut. His last name is quite fitting as he is regarded as a quick-skating offensive defenseman in the mold of current Lightning defenseman Dan Boyle.

“He’s one of the most fluid skaters in this year’s draft,” Lightning Chief Scout Jake Goertzen said. “He is a very agile, puck-moving defenseman and is very well-suited for the new NHL."

Sounds like a very nice pickup for Michigan. Especially considering the severe lack of returning defensemen we could have next year.