Failures
Let’s start with the most disappointing failure in terms of development during Quinn’s tenure–Kaapo Kakko. The second-overall pick has scored 10 goals and added 13 assists for 23 points this season. The numbers in and of themselves are not terrible.
The problem is, Kakko was billed as an exceptional talent. He was admittedly overhyped, but he still had the experience of playing against men in the Liiga league and at the IIHF World Championships. . He is considered the future star of the Rangers by many fans, and was billed as NHL-ready by experts..
So, how did Quinn handle this future star? Oh, by basically ignoring him the first half of the season and admitting that he wasn’t going to give Kakko extra attention. To make matters worse, he relegated Kakko to a bottom-six role throughout the entire season, rarely allowing Kakko to showcase his talent with players of equal or better skills.
This is an egregious failure, plain and simple. Teams are built in the draft. The Rangers got lucky to get the second overall pick in the 2019 Draft. The idea that you’re not going to go out of your way as an organization and a coach to properly develop that asset is incredibly stubborn and, quite frankly, idiotic.
Which brings us to Lias Andersson. The same rationale applies–the Rangers invested a lot of capital by picking him at seventh in the 2017 Draft. You can argue whether or not that pick is a reach, and that’s fine.
The point is, Andersson should have been given every opportunity to prove he’s an NHL player given the capital the Rangers used to get him. Unfortunately, Quinn relegated Andersson to the fourth line, with some sporadic cameos on the third line–despite Andersson being the second-best center in the preseason. (Obviously, take the preseason with a grain of salt, but it does seem to conflict with Quinn’s rather curious evaluation of Andersson.)
Quinn argued that players have to earn their time, but haven’t these high draft picks, in fact, already earned it? They worked hard throughout their life to be valued so highly by the organization and other scouts. Don’t you reward that hard work by putting these players in the best possible position to succeed?
Because Quinn certainly didn’t with Vitali Kravtsov. Kravtsov had a so-so training camp–a camp you’d expect from a 19-year old rookie winger playing hockey on a different continent. He was not spectacular, but he wasn’t bad.
And yet, Quinn chose Brendan Smith for one of the forward slots to start the NHL season over Kravtsov. Our ninth-overall pick in the 2018 draft lost out to Smith, a hybrid forward/defenseman in title only because he’s proving equally inept (excluding the season that the Rangers first traded for him) at both positions.
To recap, Quinn hasn’t developed the second, seventh, and ninth overall picks–in other words, three top-10 picks in three drafts. How does a rebuilding team become successful if their developmental coach has a lack of success with that kind of talent?
Libor Hajek of 33 career NHL games also comes to mind. He was considered the linchpin of the Ryan McDonagh trade. Unfortunately, Hajek has often looked overwhelmed in the NHL.
Finally, let’s not forget Brett Howden. Howden was projected by scouts to be a good third-line center, with a possible second-line center ceiling. Under Quinn, he’s barely looking like an NHL-er, despite Quinn consistently praising him for his “intentions” and continuing to play him in favorable situations that other prospects haven’t been given.
Remember, correlation doesn’t equal causation, but there sure is an interesting pattern that most failures on this list don’t hail from North America.