New York Rangers: Is David Quinn actually a developmental coach?

There was one big reason the New York Rangers hired David Quinn as coach almost two years ago.  Has he lived up to his reputation?

When the New York Rangers lured Coach David Quinn away from Boston University, Quinn was billed as a developmental coach. The thinking was, a teaching coach is needed to help the youngsters learn how to be a professional hockey player, and he and the rebuild would usher in a new golden age of New York Rangers hockey.

Well, a funny thing happened on the way to Madison Square Garden–the teaching coach that the organization hired to accelerate “the kids'” progress doesn’t seem to be the one that the Rangers got.

So, the question becomes–is David Quinn actually a developmental coach? Let’s review.

Successes

There are some obvious examples that prove Quinn is as advertised. His work with Anthony DeAngelo is revelatory. DeAngelo, mind you, was on his ostensible last shot in hockey when the Rangers acquired him from the Arizona Coyotes in the blockbuster trade that sent Derek Stepan and Antti Raanta to the desert for the seventh overall pick and DeAngelo. In short, Quinn made DeAngelo grow up. He wouldn’t tolerate DeAngelo’s off-ice antics–and got him to walk the fine line of agitator and respectable citizen on the ice.

And let’s not forget about Ryan Strome. Strome was acquired from the Edmonton Oilers for Ryan Spooner, and at the time it was considered an equal trade of bad contracts. Now it’s about as one-sided a deal you can get, with Jeff Gorton looking like a hockey demigod with powers us mere mortals can only fantasize about attaining.

Spooner flamed out spectacularly in Edmonton and is no longer in the NHL. On the other hand, Strome put up 59 points in 70 games as the Rangers’ second-line center.

But, how much of this success can be attributed to Quinn? Strome’s battering mate is Artemi Panarin, who has 95 points in 69 games this season. Is Strome’s career reclamation a product of Quinn’s developmental ways, or him playing with elite talent? Does it even matter, just as long as the Rangers are the beneficiaries?

Adam Fox and Ryan Lindgren are both exceeding every expectation. They look like the 1-2 defensive pair of the present and future. In the second half of the season, Quinn has given them more responsibility and played them on the penalty kill and against the other teams’ top lines.

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.

Final Verdict

Ultimately, David Quinn has shown throughout his two years with the Rangers that he prioritizes winning over development. Is there anything wrong with that? No. Should winning come at the expense of the young players’ progress? Absolutely not.

Quinn’s reliance on veterans like Brendan Smith and Jesper Fast has hindered more talented youngsters like Kakko and Kravtsov. His seemingly bias against non-North American players has caused the Rangers to waste precious draft capital on picks that under him won’t get a fair shake.

And the Rangers’ improved record this season isn’t necessarily a reflection on Quinn as much as it is other factors. As Steve Paulus explains about the Hartford Wolf Pack:

“One of the promises made by the New York Rangers was that as part of the rebuild, the team was going to revamp the organization on all levels. That meant scouting, player development and their top minor league affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack. On the surface it looks like an unmitigated success, but when taking a deeper look there are reasons to be concerned.” – Steve Paulus

The Rangers are in playoff contention this season because 1) they landed Artemi Panarin and 2) Igor Shesterkin has been playing at possibly an unsustainable level. He’s 10-2 with a .932 save percentage. This season, Alexandar Georgiev (17 wins, 14 losses, two overtime losses, and a .910 save percentage) and Henrik Lundqvist (10 wins, 12 losses, three overtime losses and a .905 save percentage) combined for a 27-26-5 record. Without Shesterkin even more than Panarin, the Rangers aren’t a playoff team.

So, can you really credit Quinn with the Rangers resurgence? Can you even call him a developmental coach? The answer to both is a resounding no.