Maple Leafs sign Jacob Quillan 2 years

[stugats1]

Love this signing. Excellent 2 way player. I know Bruins wanted him bad as did a few other teams. He chose Toronto. I've seen him play a bunch of times for Quinnipiac

thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/latest-news/why-the-maple-leafs-signed-jacob-quillan-and-their-immediate-plans-for-the-talented-forward

[finnmccool]

This is GREAT NEWS, I have been following Jacob Quillian for a couple years and never imagined the leafs could sign him. All the reports I saw showed he was most likely to sign with Boston, so to have the Leafs jump in and snatch him away is absolutely friggin fantastic. For those who don't know Jacob Quillian is a hell of a hockey player, one of those heart and soul players every team needs and I'm sure he going to quickly become a fan favourite. 

[TMan]

Like the sounds of this. With dwindling draft picks gotta look elsewhere. Good signing.

[Gerard]

And, though I wouldnt know him if I tripped over him, its nice to know he's from my hometown. (Even happier to know hes as good as he is.)

[Leafs_Pam]

SN wrote a Scouting Report on Quillan that I somehow missed yesterday. It's a long article, but well worth reading.

Quillan Scouting Report

[finnmccool]

Jacob Quillan has arrived in Toronto and had his first practice with the Marlies today. Marlies coach John Gruden said that Quillan will play his first game as a Marlie this Saturday and since I live in Hamilton I planning on jumping on the Go Training to Toronto and catching this game. I'm really pumped to see what the leafs have in Quillan first hand.

Jacob Quillan by the way says he grew up a leafs fan who as a kid got up early to watch the leafs hilites before heading to school. He goes on to say becoming a leaf is a dream come true.

[stugats1]

Have a great time Fin. This kid could be a find.

[finnmccool]

Apr 5, 2024 18:01:19 GMT -5 stugats1 said:

Have a great time Fin. This kid could be a find.

Thanks stugats1 it should be a blast, and I think your right the kid could be a find and I fully expect him to be battling for a spot on the leafs this fall when training camp opens. 
Interestingly I have looked online and can see there are alot of fans who haven't a clue as to who Jacob Quillan is. 

I think the best resource for what Jacob Quillan is are his coaches and here are some of their quotes about him 

Rand Pecknold Quinnipiac University head coach said this about Jacob Quillan " He's a bull he wins battles

Quinnipiac assistant coach Joe Dumais " He’s a big kid and his ability to win battles and races is really high-end.”

Joe Dumais again " When you have your top players show up and compete like he does in the gym, in practice and in games every day, it just rubs off on everybody. Everybody’s looking at him. Especially this year. He just won a national championship last year and scored the game-winning goal and he’s still our hardest worker. He’s still going out every day like he’s won nothing,” 

Not bad for a guy who scored the winning goal in overtime  of the College Championship game and who was named MVP of the frozen 4 tournament and then this year named the best defensive forward in college hockey

[TMan]

I’m sold even tho I don’t know sh*t about him. Sounds like a rare type of player. Talented and driven to win!

[Leafs_Pam]

Enjoy the game Finn. Be sure to give us a report on how he does in the game.

[stugats1]

I've seen him play a bunch of times. I enjoy watching college hockey and we get quite a bit of it here. His tenacity always stood out. And of course the overtime winner in finals to beat Matthew Knies..

[finnmccool]

I encourage anyone who hasn't seen a NCAA hockey game to do so, the hockey itself is great and the atmosphere in the stands is amazing. 

[finnmccool]

Hi guy's sorry about the late report on Jacob Quillan, it been a hectic week for me both with work and family and I just couldn't find the time to comment on Quillan debut with the Marlies. To start lets recognise that the Toronto Marlies are fighting for a playoff spot and finding room to introduce a rookie to the league when every game counts in this playoff run is difficult. So Quillan had to settle for playing wing ( he's a natural center ) on the fourth line. So how did he do, well to my non scout eye pretty well. He's got size 6' feet 200LBS and he looks  big (not huge) when compared to other Marlies. What really stood to me was his quickness, sure he's a good skater but it was his changing of direction and his edges that really caught my attention, watching him he seemed to dart when he changed direction be it chasing a puck in corner or driving the net. How did he do offensively, he had a decent chance to score on his second shift but was knock off balance at the last moment. He then setup his linemate for a shot in slot but the guy fubbed the shot and nothing came of it. He also had a couple of stolen pucks and really played smart positional hockey. His coach seemed to reconize this as well and nearly doubled his shifts in the second period. The third was a bit of a disappointment as the Marlies ran into penalty trouble and Quillan sat most of the time.

UPDATE:

Ok Jacob Quillan just completed his 4th game with the Marlies and yesterday he was promoted to second line center becuase of an injury to Dylan Gambrell. Quillan centered Joseph Blandisi and Alex Steeves. Acording to reports he played a very mature game, being very sound defensively and showed some nice flashes offensively. Again acording to reports Quillan’s speed is noticeable and has surprised a few opponents, enabling him to win some battles and races for loose pucks. Personally I have alot of faith in Quillan and look forward to the day we see him in a leafs uniform.

[stugats1]

Good stuff Fin

[Leafs_Pam]

Finn, thank you for this report. Sorry to hear you had such a hectic week. From your report, he sounds promising. I hope next season he makes the Leafs lineup. We will have both the player that lost in both the Frozen Four and the player who got the goal that eliminated him. Interesting.