When it comes time for the puck to drop, David Quinn's head is nowhere but in the hockey game. No one will blame him, though, if his thoughts stray a little bit on Tuesday night.
The Rangers will play host to the Colorado Avalanche on First Responders Night at Madison Square Garden, a game dedicated to honoring local first responders including members of the NYPD, FDNY and EMS. Amid the remembrances and tributes, the head coach of the Rangers will spare a few thoughts for two important men in his life who he has lost but never forgotten.
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Like so many, Quinn was awed by the heroism and sacrifice of New York's first responders on Sept. 11, 2001, and when he thinks of that terrible day, his thoughts turn to his friend Mark Bavis. Mark was a left winger for Boston University not long after Quinn played defense for the Terriers, and was drafted by the Rangers in the ninth round of the 1989 draft. Mark's identical twin brother, Mike Bavis, was Mark's teammate at BU and later shared assistant coaching duties with Quinn for five seasons at their alma mater.
Mark Bavis was working as a scout for the Kings and was flying to Los Angeles from Boston aboard United Flight 175 when it was crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center. Mark was 31.
"I was just with him two days before in Michigan, and spoke with him two days before that. When you lose someone that close to you, especially at such a young age, it just stays with you forever," Quinn told NYRangers.com on Monday. "But then, to just watch the first responders from the police department, to the firefighters, to the paramedics, to anyone who lent a hand - civilians too. I remember my dad being really affected by it, because I think anybody in that line of work puts themselves in that position."
A Bond That Runs Deep
Quinn no doubt will have his father in this thoughts Tuesday night, too. William Quinn, who passed away in 2010, was a longtime police officer in the family's blue-collar hometown of Cranston, RI. Among Quinn's many lasting memories of his father - apart from getting to run the sirens in the squad car as a young boy, and seeing the respect William commanded around Cranston - is watching his father watch the first responders work at the World Trade Center site and knowing that the only thing his father wanted to do was help.
"That profession is a bond that runs deep, no matter where you are a policeman, and no matter where you are a fireman," Quinn said. "There's a connection for every policeman who's ever put on the uniform, there's a connection for every firefighter who's ever put on the uniform.
"There's a real deep bond because of what they do day in and day out, and they have so much at stake every day they go to work. I remember the impact that had on my father."
His father, of course, had plenty of impact on him, personally and in his professional life in hockey. In a letter to RangersTown upon taking the job in May, Quinn wrote that "I describe my coaching style as fair and demanding" and pledged that "We're going to give you an honest effort night after night." On Monday, Quinn discussed the "accountability" he demands of himself and of his players and staff, as well as "the no-nonsense, straightforward way I go about things." These are William Quinn's traits, too.
"There was no nonsense, that's for sure," Quinn said of his upbringing. "I was so fortunate to have an incredible father. Very proud but never impressed by his children. … He was not impressed by the fact that I was a hockey player and people thought I was pretty good, it didn't affect his parenting."
Quinn recalled the time he was selected by the Minnesota North Stars with the 13th pick of the 1984 NHL Draft. "I remember coming home from the draft telling him, 'You know Dad, I think I'm going to go to Boston this summer and just work out all summer.' He looked at me like I was crazy. He said, 'Oh really? Well I got you a job and you're going to deliver soda all summer. Be there at 7 o'clock on Monday morning.'
"So I delivered soda all summer. Five hundred cases a day. So that gives you a little idea of what my father was all about."
The bond shared among people who work as first responders is not necessarily a closed circle; for many years there has been a special relationship built on mutual support between the Rangers and members of the FDNY, the NYPD and EMS. Those connections were something that Quinn perceived long before he joined the Rangers organization.
"I've realized that from afar, ever since 9/11 really," Quinn said. "I know a lot of time has passed, (since) the impact that 9/11 had on everybody throughout the country, but more so people in this area. But I think the connection between the New York Rangers and the New York City Fire Department and the NYPD and paramedics is as strong as it's ever been."
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